Hollow Heart
by Riverstyxx
Summary: An age of peace has decended upon the realms of Avalar. Joined under a treaty of peace, the ten dragon realms have come together as one. However Spyro just may find that even in an age of prosperity, peace is still a long way off. Many OCs. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey there! well I was digging through my documents this morning and I found this little piece of fanfiction, which I'd almost forgotten about. It's the first chapter of a story I was planning to write but never got around to. I just thought I'd post it up on here to see what people thought about it and whether or not I should continue. I believe it takes place after Dawn of the Dragon, but i probably started writing it before I actually played the game. There will be lots of OCs, but i'm not really sure where i'm going with this so I'll most likely just make it up as I go along. Read and review, tell me what you think! And if you're wondering about the little poem at the start, i just like starting my fanfictions with a little piece of poetry to get in the mood. Please review, and enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Spyro or any of the characters, but i do own any OCs that may appear in this fanfiction.

* * *

**Hollow Heart**

_Breath of ice run through my veins_

_ Set my blood and fuel my pain_

_Through the ancient crumbling stones_

_We will walk, but not alone_

_See the spirits wander near_

_The ghosts that sing the tunes of fear_

_Trapped they are, though they are free_

_To wander for eternity_

* * *

With every step he sank deeper, further, into the cold, ice sludge beneath his paws. Hidden by the wispy fog that floated around his golden chest were the rotted and crumbling gravestones of ancients long past, their stories long forgotten, their legends lost. They were the dragons of old who had long been forgotten and condemned to the cold nothingness of death, those who had been celebrated in their time, and yet their deeds left unrecognised in these present times. He wondered, oh how he feared, if this would be his case in the distant future. Would his deeds be forgotten, would he be left to rot in the misty graveyard for all eternity, unremembered…nameless…? He, the greatest of all dragons that ever lived, the prophesised purple dragon that had brought peace to the realms…would he be forgotten? Nay, not him…not Spyro…would he?

But as he wandered through this graveyard, treading on the crumbled dust of long-broken tombstones, his violet scales glittering in the mist, he was afraid. Had he done enough, enough to be recognised by the future generations, enough to stop his legend from fading into the crumbling pages of forgetfulness? He wondered…

'Spyro!'

The voice of another dragon, a female voice, broke into his musings and he came to a halt in neck-deep fog, his unseen paws slowing oozing into the sludge beneath him. He twisted his head around, his glittering blue eyes straining to see through the rising fog. A shadowy figure stood on the outskirts of the graveyard, her red chest like a burning beacon through the milky white mist. Spyro paused, one paw raised in the air, dripping sludge as he considered whether to continue on his way through the stones, or answer the dragoness's call. The graveyard was already weaving its spell on him, dulling his senses, and turning his thoughts to death, fears and anxiety as the wailing songs of the dead rolled towards him through the mist. How he would love just to continue through the tombs…to disappear and fade into the mist…

'Spyro! Where are you?'

Once more her voice cut through him like a well-sharpened knife, bringing him back from the brink of a depression-induced trance. Feeling particularly stupid standing there in the knee deep sludge and up to his neck in freezing fog, Spyro turned quite deliberately around, wrenching his paws from the sludge much more forcefully than usual as if he was trying to break the graveyard's hold on him. And he knew that while he still lingered here amidst the wailing, haunting tunes of death that the graveyard would still hold him captive in his own anxious thoughts, and the only cure was to get out.

The dragoness's outline became clearer as he strode towards the heavy iron gates that stood moss-covered and broken, a last remnant of a forbidding fence that had once surrounded this graveyard. But that was now gone, long fallen and absorbed by the marshy sludge. Only the gate remained and in front of it now stood the black dragoness, Cynder, her emerald green eyes watching intently as the shadowy figure of Spyro made its way towards her. Swishing her scythe-tipped tale agitatedly, she lifted one paw from the sludge and shook it as though trying to shake the ooze off. But it wouldn't be shifted. Her breath escaped her in a frustrated sigh and she called once more for the purple dragon, for once wishing the glowing Sparx was there to light the way through the fog.

'Spyro, come on! The guardians are waiting for you! You didn't forget did you? And we're all covered in mud, imagine what they'll think!'

'What who will think?' asked Spyro, appearing in front of her, fog swirling about his muzzle.

Cynder scowled, sighing in exasperation, 'the realm lords! They're coming from everywhere to meet you, and whatever else they've planned with the guardians. They're not going to want to see you covered in green ooze and muck!'

Spyro felt his cheek scales burn and wondered if they were glowing red with embarrassment, 'yeah…I guess…I forgot…'

The black dragoness snorted, 'that's no excuse, now come on!'

She turned to leave, picking her paws daintily from the sludge, beckoning Spyro to follow with her long tail. But no sooner had she turned around than she came face to face with a bright, golden, glowing bug with a face that she herself found most irritating.

'Cynder!' he yelled up her nostrils, his hands cupped around his mouth as though to amplify his voice.

Cynder retaliated with an alarmed yelp and leapt backwards, landing quite ungracefully on her backside in the cold lumpy mud. Sparx seemed quite unconcerned at her reaction and threw his hands in the air like a frustrated mother who had just discovered her children playing in the mud in their good clothes.

'Where have you guys _been_?! I've been looking all over for you! The bloody Lords and Ladies are already here and Ignitus has promised them you're gonna be there! So I suggest you high-tail it over there, you great purple lump!'

Spyro's eyes went wide with worry, 'oh dear…'

Cynder clambered to her feet, shaking her tail and sending drops of mud flying off into Spyro's eyes, 'Oh my! I knew this would happen! Come on, Spyro! There's no time to dilly-dally, let's go!'

Without further ado she took off in a flurry of green and brown sludge, Spyro hard on her tail, leaving the glowing dragonfly hovering after them muttering to himself. Charging out of the swamp and onto firm ground again, Cynder looked over her shoulder to make sure Spyro was following and yelled out to him over the pounding off their paws against the ground.

'We'll take a dip in the lake on the way past to wash of this sludge! Then it's full speed ahead to the temple! Ooh, you picked the worst time to be late, Spyro!'

Grinning sheepishly, Spyro thundered after her, the sludge on his paws wiping off on the green grass that flattened itself to the ground as he pounded on it. Alarmed that two teenage dragons should be thundering towards him, a young jackrabbit hopped hastily out of the way, feeling the breeze as the dragons shot past. Birds took flight from their trees as the racing dragons alarmed them from their nests, and moles burrowed deep underground as they felt the vibrations of pounding paws. Spyro picked up speed as the lake came into view, the perfectly still surface of the water glittering in the brilliant sunlight. It seemed so different compared to the cold, mysteriousness of the old graveyard. Cynder felt blades of grass fly up onto her muzzle as Spyro sped past her and she picked up her own speed.

Spyro lowered his head and gathered the muscles in his back legs as he neared the edge of the lake, hearing his own paws thundering beneath him. His claws dug into the grass as he bunched his legs beneath his body, unfurled his wings, and pushed off with all his might. The wind whipped past him, catching his wings and sending him further as he closed his eyes. Then he snapped his golden wings back against his side and nose-dived straight into the water with a splash that rose at least three meters above the previously still surface of the lake. Cynder rolled her eyes, running into the water after him and yelling as he surfaced, 'Show off!'

Spyro shook his head, sending glittering drops of water flying all around him, and grinning roguishly at Cynder as she ducked into the water. Seconds later she surfaced and clambered up the bank, yelling back to Spyro,

'No time to waste, purple boy, come on!'

Snorting water from his nostrils, Spyro flapped his way towards the bank and, once he was on dry land, shook his whole body like a dog. Cynder leapt back as the droplets flew towards her before turning tail and fleeing through the trees towards the temple.

'Race you!'

Spyro grinned, 'that's what I like to hear!' and thundered after her.

Sparx buzzed after them, his wings humming with an annoying tinny sound as he shook his tiny glowing fist at the retreating forms of Spyro and Cynder,

'Oi! Wait up you lousy dragons! Gah…this is what I get for helping him save the world…no _respect_!'

But the dragons had better things to worry about than an agitated dragonfly. As the towering form of the Dragon Temple rose through the trees, Spyro could make out the stocky figure of the earth master, Terrador, no doubt waiting for them to arrive. He picked up his pace, catching up with Cynder, and skidded to a halt just in front of the seasoned warrior. Terrador looked down on the two young dragons with unmistakable disapproval, swishing his green tale as he stamped his feet.

'A warrior must learn to time things right, or he may not live to tell about it,' he warned in his deep throaty voice, his eyes narrowing, 'now I suggest you go inside lest any more delays interrupt us.'

Feeling both ashamed and embarrassed, Spyro followed Cynder inside as Terrador watched the slowly approaching yellow glow that was Sparx. The dragonfly yawned,

'Yep, found 'em. Tell me I don't have to sit through this boring old meeting?'

Terrador regarded him with a disdainful eye, 'well done finding them, Sparx. As promised you are excused from the meeting lest you wish to participate.'

'Woo!' screamed Sparx, throwing his hands in the air for joy, 'don't bore my buddy Spyro to death, now! I'll be in the garden…'

Buzzing like a mosquito, he hovered past the green warrior dragon and disappeared around the corner. Terrador shook his head slowly and thumped towards the door, beyond which the Lords and Ladies would be waiting for the meeting to begin.

*

Spyro poked his purple head around the door warily, eyeing the room beyond. It was a large space that had previously been dominated by a colossal statue of a dragon that sank into the floor whenever the room was in need of use. Spyro vaguely remembered training in this room with the four guardians when he had been younger, before he had saved the world. It looked different now without the rough straw dummies and wooden targets scattered around. Instead there was a large audience of dragons. The purple dragon could make out the other two guardians, Cyril and Volteer, at the far end of the room. Standing around them was an assortment of different sized and coloured dragons, both male and female. Spyro squinted his eyes to make out the array of different colours. Yellow, teal, blue, emerald green, black, steel grey, orange, pink, and even one that looked almost white, but maybe she was just a pale yellow.

Cynder gave Spyro an impatient shove in the backside that sent him stumbling into the room, looking frightened. Fortunately the dragons didn't turn to see his less-than-heroic entrance. Cynder slid up beside him, hissing in his ear,

'Don't look so frightened! You're a hero! They just want to meet you! Now off you go…I'm right behind you.'

Spyro nodded and trotted towards the group of dragons, glad to hear the tap tapping of Cynder's paws beside his own. Volteer craned over the heads of the Lords and Ladies and called out to the approaching young dragons.

'Ah! Spyro, there you are! Come now, come over here.'

Spyro tried desperately to ignore the stares of the older dragons as he made his way towards Volteer, Cynder following behind. As he approached the Guardians, the purple dragon turned slowly to face his audience and their unnervingly staring eyes. Volteer beamed,

'Ladies and Lords of the ancient realms, allow me to introduce the purple dragon, the saviour, Spyro!'

Cynder nudged Spyro's foot and hissed, 'take a bow!'

Blushing, Spyro lowered his forehead to the ground, bending one knee as he did so. Feeling stupid he raised his head and dared himself to look back into the eyes of the Lords and Ladies. For a moment there was silence until the steel grey dragon stepped forwards, his brown eyes twinkling warmly. His voice had an almost metallic nature to it when he spoke and it reverberated around the room.

'Spyro, young lord, it is such a pleasure to finally meet the saviour of our realms. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Annotan, lord of the Iron Realms, it is an honour to be in your presence.'

Suddenly the grey lord bowed low, his black underbelly almost scrapping the ground. Spyro blushed, feeling stupid that other older dragons would be bowing to him. Spyro licked his lips, glancing at Cynder who mouthed 'say something!' at him. He racked his brains for something to say to the lord.

'It is an honour to meet you, Annotan, Lord of Iron,' he murmured, hoping he didn't sound foolish.

Annotan straightened up from his bow, 'please, call me Tan, and the honour is all mine, master Spyro.'

Annotan stepped back and Cynder gave the purple dragon a wink that said, "See, not so bad, is it?" Spyro grinned at her and turned back to the Lords and Ladies. Once again, it was one of the Lords who stepped forwards, his scales glittering a brilliant sapphire blue, green frills running down his neck and tail. The blue dragon bowed and spoke in a voice much younger than Annotan's.

'Master Spyro, an honour. My name is Neptune, Lord of the Hydro Realms.'

'Lord Neptune,' nodded Spyro, solemnly, 'a pleasure to meet you.'

And when Neptune stepped back a Dragoness stepped forward. She was the colour of the sunset in the evening, a pale pink colour tinged with orange and yellow. Her purple eyes smiled down at him.

'Young lord Spyro,' she purred, 'such an honour. You may know me as Dawn, the Lady of the Sol Realms.'

Spyro dipped his head respectively, 'lovely to meet you, Lady Dawn.'

The pink dragon bowed gracefully and stepped back. Spyro caste Cynder a quick glance that said clearly, 'how long is this going to take?' but she paid him no attention. So they continued through the many Lords and Ladies of the different realms that Spyro had never even heard of. Lady Tezza of the Nature realms, Lord Thunder of the Gale Realms, Lord Ezentar of the Ampere Realms, Lady Flaire of the Inferno realms and Lord Pluto of the Lunar Realms. Until finally there was only one left, the white dragoness who had not yet greeted Spyro. As she stepped forward, Spyro couldn't stop himself from squinting to see if her scales really were white. They seemed a more pale yellow, with her underbelly and horns being a darker yellow. She smiled, her ruby eyes glittering like jewels.

'Hello, Spyro,' she murmured, bowing gracefully, 'I am Lady Anara of the Realm of Radiance.'

Spyro bowed just has he had for the rest of them, 'Lady Anara, such a pleasure.'

'I imagine you must get very bored listening to us,' smirked Anara.

Spyro blushed furiously and Cynder scowled but refrained from yelling a retort at the White Lady. But Anara continued in a friendly manner,

'Don't look so embarrassed, I'd be dead bored, too!'

And she laughed a laugh like that of silver bells ringing. Spyro gazed uncomprehendingly at her, his jaw hanging open slightly, but her laughter was infectious and he joined in, much to the disgust of Cynder. Their laughter died away and Anara smiled,

'You are much more of a character than I expected, master Spyro, not at all as dull and boring as the heroes back home. Not that any of them could measure up to _your _heroism.'

Spyro blushed again, ruffling his wings in pleasure, 'thankyou, lady Anara, I hardly consider myself a hero, though.'

'No?' asked Anara, as the other Lords and Ladies looked rather shocked at his confession, 'but, young master, you saved the realms from complete destruction!'

Spyro ducked his head, hiding his embarrassed and rather ashamed face. He just had to let that slip didn't he? Eventually he looked up again and murmured,

'I mean…well, of course…I'm a hero and all…but anyone could have done it…'

Lord Thunder tossed his black-scaled head, 'now, now, boy, not everyone has those marvellous powers of yours; I think you were the only one suited for the job. After all, Purple dragons aren't all that common now are they?'

The other dragon leaders nodded in agreement and Spyro managed a smile, 'yeah…yeah, I guess you're right.'

'Oh the boy's just modest, aren't you, Spyro?' laughed Volteer, looking down at his former student.

'A bit _too _modest,' smirked Cynder, winking at him.

Spyro grinned sheepishly and looked up at the smiling Lords and Ladies. There was something strange about Anara's smile, almost as though she wanted to say something to him, but he couldn't ask her now. Volteer ushered Spyro and Cynder to the side as he and Cyril stepped forwards with the newly arrived Terrador.

'Well,' spoke Terrador, 'you have met the master Spyro, now down to business. Cyril.'

The rather obnoxious Ice Guardian, Cyril, stepped forwards and began to speak in his pompous English accent. The Lords and Ladies of the realms listened intently, all save Anara who seemed to be watching Spyro with most interest.

'It is understood that while peace reigns anew within these realms,' began Cyril, with a glance at the purple dragon, 'the realms still remember what it was like during the days of war. We have never been as one world and as such are weaker to such evil forces as that of the passed purple dragon, Malefor. Had we stuck together and moved as one we could have stopped the tyrannous Malefor from ever taking power, and as such prevented the immense destruction that ravaged our realms. We give many thanks to our saviour, master Spyro, from this destruction, but feel that if it should ever happen again we may not be as fortunate. Therefore we believe it is our duty to unite the realms as they have never been joined before, in trade, defence and aid should the need ever arise for us to move as one against an external foe. This meeting between Lords and Ladies of the realms has been called to officially recognise this union of the Ten Realms.'

Terrador strode forwards, carrying in one claw a rolled up scroll the colour of ivory, a pot of ink and a pen that appeared to be made of bone. He set the inkpot and its pen on the flour before unrolling the scroll on the floor and reading the curling writing at the top. He cleared his throat and spoke in his gruff, throaty voice,

'The following is under the constitution of the Treaty of Avalar.

We, the Lords and Ladies of the different Realms of Dragons, hereby consent to the union of the ten realms to become one under the ruling sun and to share trade, aid and defence alliances with one another should the need ever arise to protect ourselves form external enemies. Signed:'

Underneath the curling passage were the signatures of the three remaining guardians, the lords of this realm and the first to sign the scroll. Had Ignitus still been among them, he alone would have signed the scroll, but in his absence the other three guardians had taken on his title as 'Lord of the Realm'. Terrador looked up as he finished reading and bowed to the dragons before him.

'This scroll is a binding contract that joins our realms as one, together. Please step forward to sign if you wish so.'

There was a moment's hesitation amongst the Lords and Ladies until Lord Annotan stepped forwards. The iron-grey dragon took the bone pen with his tail and dipped it in the pot of ink before adding his own curling signature to the scroll. Placing the pen back on the ground, Annotan bowed before Terrador and said simply, 'I accept the union of the realms, and only hope those behind me will follow suit.'

As the Lord of the Iron realms stepped back it was as though the ice that had stretched between the Guardians of Avalar and the others had suddenly melted away. One by one, their hesitation forgotten, the Lords and Ladies all strode forward and added their names to the scroll at Terrador's feet. There was only one hesitation. When all others had signed, Lady Anara stood staring at the scroll with a strange look on her face. Cynder stood to the side, glaring daggers at the pale dragoness and deciding she didn't like this Lady of the Realms of Radiance one little bit. All fell silent as Anara hesitated to step forwards. Then finally, after a deafening silence that left Spyro feeling oddly unnerved, the pale dragoness strode daintily forwards and picked the pen up in her tail. With a few quick flowing strokes, Anara added a fancy looping signature to the end of the scroll and placed the pen back down, bowing as she did so.

When she had retreated back from the scroll, Terrador gathered the parchment up in his claws and rolled it into a cylinder. Placing the cylinder back on the floor he took a stamp from Cyril and sealed the scroll shut with a glob of red wax. Regally, he raised his head and looked across at the gathered Lords and Ladies.

'The Treaty has been sealed. We are now gathered as one nation. May the ancestors grant us peace and prosperity in this new age of union.'

There was a clattering of scales and a stamping of feet as the Lords and Ladies signified their approval of the statement. With the formalities over and done with, Cyril carried the scroll away and the talk turned to friendly banter. Unnoticed by the others, Lady Anara had snuck through the crowd towards Spyro and hissed quietly in his ear.

'Master Spyro, may I have a private word with you? There are a few things I'd like to ask and to tell you.'

Spyro jumped in surprise at her sudden appearance at his side, but nodded politely, albeit feeling a bit confused.

'O-of course…'

Cynder turned her head away from the chattering crowd and watched suspiciously as the pale dragoness led the purple dragon out the door and towards the veranda. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, the black dragoness silently slunk after them. Whatever that pale dragoness was up to, Cynder was intent on finding out.

* * *

A/N: Well that was longer than i expected. I have a very vague idea of the plot for this one, and your reviews might be able to help me think clearer! So tell me what you think and what i can do to improve on this piece. Thankyou for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **An update at last! This chapter was particularly hard to write because i'm still not sure where i'm going with this. i'm just writing this as i go. anyway, the second chapter is finally here, so read and be merry and dont forget to review. Let the words begin!

* * *

Chapter 2

There was a calm feel to the musky afternoon air out on the balcony when Spyro curiously followed Anara out into the open. Moving towards the edge of the balcony where one could look out over the gardens, Lady Anara beckoned for Spyro to come closer. He obliged, walking to her side and waiting curiously for her to speak.

'You must be wondering why I called you out here,' was the first thing she said, gazing out over the rail with a faraway look in her ruby eyes.

Spyro wasn't quite sure what to say, so he settled instead with saying nothing at all. Anara turned her pale head towards him and her eyes were filled with such seriousness that for a moment Spyro was afraid.

'What I say next, Spyro,' she said clearly, her eyes boring into his, 'you must not repeat to anyone. Do you understand?'

In the shadows behind them, Cynder frowned at those words and knew she had been right. There was something unusual about this dragoness. Spyro nodded slowly, contemplating it in his head. He could tell no one. Not even the guardians. What was so secret that even the guardians of Avalar could not know?

'I did not come here to sign a treaty,' Anara said suddenly, as though the very idea was preposterous, 'perhaps the other realm guardians wanted to sell away their dignity, but I did not. It is a shame that I had no other choice, but I suppose that is a small price to pay for being able to come here.'

Spyro felt irritated for a moment. She spoke so rudely of the other guardians, as though she was above them all, and Spyro didn't like that.

'If I may be so bold,' Spyro cut in, 'if you didn't come here to sign the treaty, then why _did _you come here?'

A sigh escaped her mouth and she bowed her head as though the deepest sorrow had just befallen her. It made the purple dragon feel particularly bewildered. Shuffling her pale paws on the ground, Anara turned her eyes back to Spyro.

'Please do not think bad of me, young hero,' she begged, her eyes burning with shame and sadness, 'you must think me so rude to have come here for my own reasons on pretence of agreeing with your guardians. But I had my reasons. My realm, you see, is not as peaceful as we would have liked.'

Spyro looked up warily, his violet eyes narrowing, 'what do you mean?'

'You are a mighty hero, Spyro,' Anara answered, as though attempting to flatter him and failing, 'and you have saved this world from a horrible fate. But just because you defeat one tyrant, doesn't mean the whole of the realms are suddenly at peace.'

By now Spyro had a very bad feeling, as though fear was coursing through his veins like toxin. He took a step back, gazing with wide eyes at the White Lady.

'What are you talking about?'

Anara stood tall, her eyes blazing with a passionate fire and her scales almost glowing in the afternoon light.

'I am saying, Spyro, that you have not saved our world just yet! Even as we speak, a deadly tyrant is making his presence known in my realm! Soon he and his growing army will spread to the other realms and even to this one! And when that happens, Spyro, not even your war with Malefor will have prepared you enough to face them!'

Her words struck fear into his heart and in the shadows Cynder was trembling in anger. How dare this Lady just barge in and start lecturing the famous purple dragon? The black dragoness was tempted to leap out then and there and demand for Anara to explain herself. But Spyro was speaking again and Cynder remained silent, waiting to see what was said.

'What do you propose I do, then?' asked Spyro, regaining a hold on his emotions and pushing his shock back down.

'I'd hoped you'd ask that,' Anara said with a strange smile, 'I came here to ask you to return with me to my realm, to help me and my people suppress this tyrant before he becomes too strong.'

'You mean, go on another quest?' Spyro asked sceptically, 'just when I thought I'd finally finished it? Just when I thought I could finally relax in peace?'

'You would refuse me?' She asked sorrowfully, 'how can you rest Spyro, when you know there are others in need of a hero? How will you be able to sleep when there are others who are suffering because of your neglect?'

Spyro bit his lip and bowed his head, shaking. Her words made sense and they cut him to the bone. He was a purple dragon; it was his duty to save the world. He couldn't just sit back and relax when there were those who needed him.

'Forgive my rudeness,' said a voice suddenly, and the two dragons turned as Cynder strode out of the shadows, her emerald eyes glaring daggers at Lady Anara, 'but right now, the only tyrant around is _you_.'

'Cynder!' Spyro gasped, shocked at her statement.

Anara's eyes twinkled in amusement as she hid her anger at being interrupted, 'my, my, how rude. Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop, young lady? I suggest you watch your mouth around your elders and betters!'

'My elder, maybe, but my better?' Cynder laughed coldly, 'hardly. Who do you think you are, trying to steal our hero away? I know what you're doing. You're trying to get to him using that guilt trip. Well, I'm not going to let you take him.'

Anara's tail twitched in irritation as she turned to face the young black dragoness, 'so you'd deprive my realm of a hero when it is in need?'

Cynder scoffed, moving to Spyro's side and tossing her head angrily, 'oh please. If there really was a 'tyrant' taking over your realm, we would have heard about it long ago. Even if you are the guardian of that realm, it doesn't mean you're the only source of communication between there and here. The eagles and the cheetahs are always sending word to one another and in turn they bring messages to us. If something as big as a rising evil was occurring in one of the realms, the guardians of Avalar would already have heard about it!'

Anara hesitated for a moment as though her argument had suddenly been blown out of the window. Her ruby eyes rested on Cynder's emerald ones and her brow furrowed in a snarl. Cynder smirked, smug at her victory. But Anara wasn't done yet. She gave a small tinkling laugh and tossed her head proudly.

'Well, you _are_ a sharp one, Cynder. All those years in the darkness must have sharpened your instincts, am I right?' her eyes glittered daringly, 'it's a shame that the guardians are unable to trust you because of it…'

Cynder bared her teeth in a snarl, her claws scraping against the stone beneath her feet.

'You don't know anything…of course they trust me…'

'Oh? Then why don't they disclose important information to you? Say, for example, a message about a rising tyrant in another realm. Strange that they should keep it a secret from you.' The smirk on Anara's face was growing as she regarded Cynder with a mock sympathy.

'Th-that's ridiculous…' Cynder stuttered, suddenly unsure, 'even if they didn't tell me, they would have told Spyro!'

'She's right,' Spyro added, suddenly speaking up and coming to his friend's defence, 'they would have told me. I'm the purple dragon after all.'

'But did you ever think that maybe they didn't _want_ you to know,' Anara asked, 'perhaps they didn't want you to have to worry about it. After all, you deserve a time to rest after saving the world. It could be that they've been keeping this a secret from you all this time.'

Spyro shook his head, determined not to believe those words, 'no, no they wouldn't do that…'

'Maybe they don't trust you…' Anara hissed, 'after you both returned from your battle with Malefor and the fire guardian, Ignitus, did not. They blame you for his death, they do not trust you!'

'Enough!' Cynder was on her feet, her emerald eyes flashing and a deadly look on her face, 'don't say any more! You have no proof of what you are saying and you have no right to say these things! We are not falling for your tricks! So get out and go home and never…bother…Spyro…again!'

A puff of shadowy fire escaped from her mouth as she yelled the last word and Anara stepped back in alarm. Spyro didn't attempt to stop the black dragoness, staring only at the pale Anara with a horrified look on his face. She snarled half-heartedly at Cynder before turning away.

'Very well,' she sniffed, 'inform the guardians that I have returned to my own realm. And know that when darkness befalls you, you brought it on yourselves.'

In a flurry of wind, the pale dragoness rose into the sky and shot away, disappearing rapidly into the musky afternoon sky. Cynder sighed, expelling smoke from her mouth and shaking her head.

'Ridiculous,' she muttered, 'ridiculous.'

Spyro said nothing, his eyes still trained on the spot on the horizon where Anara had disappeared, his eyes glazed over with anxiety. And he couldn't stop that question from rolling around in his head. What if there really was danger on the horizon? What if she was right?

**

Night stretched its dark fingers across the dragon temple, bringing with it a chill wind and the pale gleaming light of the moon. Nestled beside the purple dragon was a small glowing dragonfly, his open mouth uttering snores louder than all the guardians put together. Cynder lay not far from them, her muzzle tucked beneath her paws as her sides rose evenly with each breath. But one was not asleep. Spyro lay awake in the darkness, his violet eyes gazing out the moonlit window. He was tormented by the whirlpool of thoughts in his head and his mind would not let his tired body rest. He had not tried to ask the guardians about the Realm of Radiance, too afraid of what their answer might be, so he lay awake and wondered if the dragons there were suffering. Spyro could only hope not.

He was half-asleep, his eyelids finally drooping, when the tapping sound occurred. At first he thought he was dreaming and let his head drop onto his paws sleepily. But the tapping came again, louder and with a certain rhythm. It sounded like it was coming from the window. Spyro's eyes snapped open and he looked up towards the window, searching for the irritating taping sound. He narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the shape beyond the glass. Was that…a dragon? Getting slowly to his feet, Spyro slunk soundlessly towards the window and lifted the hatch with his snout. The window swung outwards without a creak and revealed the pale head of a rosy-eyed dragoness. Spyro gasped in shock before covering his mouth with a wing, afraid he may have woken the others up. But the guardians snored on and Cynder gave no sign of having awoken.

'Spyro,' whispered Anara, for it was her at the window, 'I'm sorry to bother you like this in the middle of the night, but I simply couldn't leave without asking you once more. Please, Spyro, my realm needs you…'

The purple dragon chewed his lip nervously, thinking quickly. If he left without telling anyone, they would worry about him. But if he woke them up, who knows what they might do to stop him.

'Please, Spyro, don't turn your back on the dragons who need you! Quickly, let us go before they awake and stop us!' Anara begged, beckoning for him to climb out of the window and onto the balcony.

Looking back at the sleeping form of Cynder one last time, Spyro made a quick decision. He sighed and turned to climb out the window, muttering as he did so.

'Forgive me, Cynder, Guardians, but I have to be sure…'

He was halfway out the window when a small voice reached his ears from behind him and he almost fell backwards in shock.

'Spyro…?'

The purple dragon turned to see his adopted brother, the dragonfly Sparx, gazing up at him with his glowing yellow arms crossed. Spyro perched on the windowsill and jerked his head back towards his nest.

'Sparx, go back to bed! I wont be gone for long, look after Cynder and the others…'

But the dragonfly was stubborn, even if he didn't know what he was getting himself into. The glowing insect scowled and flew closer to Spyro's nose, folding his arms tight across his chest.

'You're not going anywhere, purple boy,' Sparx claimed, before adding almost as an afterthought, '…not without me, anyway.'

'Sparx,' Spyro hissed frantically, 'you're not coming! This is something I need to take care of myself! Just go back to sleep. Tell them I'll be back soon, I'll meet them at Warfang.'

'Uh uh, no way,' Sparx shook his glowing head, ' we've been everywhere together; I'm not staying behind this time! Besides, you'll never survive without me.'

Spyro couldn't help but grin at the dragonfly's overconfidence. He looked back at Anara but she only whispered 'hurry up!'. Sighing in defeated, Spyro beckoned for Sparx to follow him out the window.

'Alright, you can come,' Spyro sighed, 'I never know when I might need you, anyway.'

'That's right, I am the hero of the dragon realms!' Sparx proclaimed triumphantly as he hovered out the window and stopped in front of Anara, 'and who are you?'

'That's Lady Anara,' Spyro explained as he hopped out onto the balcony and shut the window as quietly as he could, 'we're going to her realm to help her out.'

'Oh goodie, more ape bashing? Or is it grublin bashing this time?' Sparx asked in a woeful voice as he hovered next to his purple dragon brother, 'Can't wait.'

Anara gave Spyro a sceptical look, 'You're bringing this thing along?'

'Not _thing_,' Sparx muttered exasperatedly, 'dragonfly, _dragonfly_. Got it? And Spyro never goes anywhere without me.'

Spyro shrugged, unable to hide the smirk on his muzzle, 'he's right. Don't worry, he wont be much of a bother. Are we going?'

'Of course,' Anara gave Sparx one last scrutinizing look before springing off the balcony and spreading her powerful wings.

Spyro followed suit, spreading his yellow wings and sailing into the night sky after the pale dragoness. Sparx fluttered alongside him, muttering about his days of heroism and his lack of recognition. Spyro smirked to himself, before turning his head to look back at the slowly diminishing dragon temple. He could only hope that Cynder and the guardians wouldn't worry about him too much. Sparx was still jabbering on about something or other and Spyro sped past him to catch up with Anara.

'Hey, wait up!' Sparx called, speeding after them, 'you'll never survive without me! Wait!'

And only the moon was witness as the three took flight across the night sky: a purple dragon, a pale yellow dragoness, and a glowing yellow dragonfly on their way to the Realm of Radiance.

**

Morning at the dragon temple was a subdued affair for Cynder. The guardians had taken the disappearance of Spyro and Sparx well, deciding they must have gone to visit the swamp where they had been raised before heading back to Warfang. But Cynder thought otherwise. The guardians didn't know about the conversation that had occurred between Spyro and the Lady of Radiance, and Cynder was sure Anara had something to do with his disappearance. She could think of no other reason why Spyro would have upped and left without even telling her first. But Cynder was hesitant to tell the guardians of her suspicions. They would never suspect the Lady of a realm to kidnap their purple dragon and Cynder knew the guardians would brush her opinion aside. Besides, she might be wrong and falsely accusing the lady of a realm would not sit well with the guardians. So Cynder kept her anxious suspicions to herself.

They were heading back to Warfang and hoped to meet up with Spyro along the way. The meeting of the Lords and Ladies had taken place at the Dragon Temple, which was a more secluded spot, to avoid the hustle and bustle of the major dragon city. The Lords and Ladies had returned to their respective realms and now it was time for Cynder and the guardians to return to their place at Warfang where it was their job to oversee the city and its inhabitants as part of the Dragon Council of Avalar. But Cynder had a feeling that Spyro wasn't going to be joining them in Warfang just yet.

'Come now, Cynder,' huffed the ice guardian Cyril, 'no need to look so gloomy, we'll catch up with Spyro sooner or later. I'm sure he's just gone off to that swamp with Sparx.'

'Cyril is right, Cynder,' Terrador agreed, nodding reassuringly at the black dragoness, 'we'll meet up with Spyro back at Warfang. There's nothing to worry about.'

That wasn't true; Cynder was almost certain that Spyro's disappearance _was_ something to worry about. But she said nothing of the sort to the guardians, instead giving them a weak smile and nodding.

'You're right. We should go.'

'Good girl,' Volteer beamed, 'no use thinking pessimistic thoughts and looking glum all day, is there? Up and away to Warfang, young dragoness, we'll find young master Spyro there!'

Cynder wished the lightning guardian was right. But she felt in her heart it wasn't true. And as she and the three guardians took to the sky, Cynder had a feeling that this was only the start of something much bigger.

**

Throughout the ages there have been certain dragons with the ability to read the Pool of Visions, a special basin of liquid that gave visions to special dragons. Ignitus, the former fire guardian, had been one of those dragons with the ability to see visions within the pool. But he was not the only dragon with such a gift.

The Gale Realm was a place known for its thrashing storms and fast wind speeds. It was home to a vast species of dragons with the ability to control this wind and use it to their own advantage. These dragons were fittingly called Wind Dragons and were often smaller than most other types of dragon. Lord Thunder ruled over this realm as a kind and dependent ruler that all could rely on. But it was not he who had the gift of vision. That gift belonged to a grey dragoness by the name of Kari. Middle-aged and a widow thanks to the forces of Malefor, Kari had one daughter and another on the way.

The heavily pregnant dragoness was not coping well with her second pregnancy. She had become very weak, leaving the daily chores and routines in the paws of her only child. Kasumi was a pale grey colour, almost as white as the clouds, her eyes the dark blue colour of the deep sea. She was only a young dragoness, younger than the famous purple dragon, but the need to care for her weak mother had made her very independent.

Kari had dragged herself to the pool of visions in the Temple of Wind that day, an unknown force having driven her to the basin. Gazing into it with glazed hazel eyes, Kari began to see the visions that flashed across the surface of the pool. Kasumi was returning to the temple with a basket full of leeks, when she saw her mother hunched over the Pool of Visions. It awed and frightened her whenever she saw her mother reading the Pool. Kasumi stayed well back, setting the basket of leeks to one side as she watched her mother anxiously. Kari had been getting steadily worse for a month and it had come to the point where the only thing she could stomach was soup. It was beyond Kasumi how and why her mother had managed to drag herself to the Pool of Visions. Whatever the reason, Kasumi had a bad feeling in her veins.

As she stared into the green waters of the Pool, Kari's whole body began to tremble and shake. The visions entered her mind, flashed before her eyes, almost robbing her of her sanity. Finally she could stand no more and she wrenched her head away from the Pool, collapsing beside it in a limp heap. Kasumi dashed to her mother's side, carelessly knocking the leeks across the floor in her haste to be beside her mother. Kari struggled to open her eyes, sweat beading on her forehead and her sides rising with the effort to breath. Kasumi nuzzled her mother's cheek anxiously.

'Mother…what is it? Can you stand?'

But Kari merely smiled a sad smile and whispered in a barely audible voice, 'I don't think I'll be standing up any more, Sumi…'

Kasumi licked her mother's jaw and shook her head, 'don't say that, mama, I've brought you some leeks to make soup with. You'll be fine once you eat…'

'Kasumi,' Kari whispered urgently, 'forget about the soup. I need…to tell you…'

'You need to eat and rest,' Kasumi insisted, trying to nudge her mother to her feet, 'we need to take care of my little brother.'

Kari sighed and flopped back down, gazing sadly at her round stomach. A single tear oozed from her hazel eye and she shook her head.

'I'm sorry, Sumi, but…sometimes things…don't turn out the way you want…' she looked up at the daughter with dulling brown eyes, 'but I need to tell you…the pool…I have seen…visions…'

Kasumi wiped her mother's tear away with a paw, frowning, 'what are you talking about, mama? What visions?'

Kari took a strained shaking breath, 'the pool has given me visions. It is telling me…bad things…Sumi, bad things are about to happen…they may be happening as we speak. I need you to do something for me…'

But Kasumi shook her head stubbornly, 'you've been dreaming bad dreams because you are weak. You need more sleep.'

'No, Sumi, the Pool never lies,' Kari insisted, 'believe me. Terrible things are about to occur. You…you are the fastest flier in this realm. You must…fly to Warfang…warn them…'

'I'm not going anywhere!' Kasumi insisted, shaking her head, her eyes prickling with tears, 'I have to stay with you. I have to care for you!'

Kari let out a sigh and closed her eyes with a sad smile. The pool had shown her other visions as well: visions of her own fate. She accepted this, knowing it was time to return to the ancestors. If only there had been someone to look after Kasumi, though.

'It's ok, Sumi. You don't have to take care of me any more,' Kari smiled, 'the ancestors…they can do that. And…I'm sorry…but you wont have a baby brother after all.'

Kasumi felt like her chest was about to explode; her eyes swam with angry and disbelieving tears. Gritting her teeth she stamped her feet and swished her tail, shaking her head and sending teardrops flying.

'No! No, mother, don't say that! I want to have a little brother! And I want to care for you! I don't want to go to Warfang, I want to stay with you!'

'There are some things…we can't change, Sumi,' Kari whispered, 'you must warn them…warn them so that they can save this world. Please, Kasumi, I'm counting on you.'

Hot tears splashed onto her white paws, 'no, no, no! I wont! I _wont_!'

Kasumi stared at her mother through watery eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks. But Kari merely looked pleadingly up at her daughter, too weak to even raise her head anymore. Kasumi bowed her head, regaining control of her breathing and attempting to stop the flow of salty tears. There was no way she could leave this realm. It was her home, and it had been ever since she had been born. She'd never left the realm before; she'd never been away from her mother for more than a day. How could she just leave when she knew that her mother needed her?

'You…need me,' Kasumi choked out, unable to meet her mother's eyes.

'And the whole world needs you more, now, Sumi. I'll be in the hands of the ancestors, I'll be ok,' Kari murmured, her breathing becoming shallower, 'now go on, Sumi. Make me proud.'

Kasumi took a deep breath and raised her head, blinking back the tears. If what her mother said was right, the world was in great danger. The Pool of Visions never lied. The young wind dragoness looked down at her mother, her eyes full of determination and her jaw set.

'I'll go to Warfang. I'll warn them. I'll make you proud, mother.'

Bowing her head, Kasumi gave her mother's cheek one last lick before she turned swiftly and raced out the door, teardrops streaming out behind her. Kari couldn't even raise her head to watch as her daughter raced out of the temple and took to the skies. Instead she gazed at the ceiling, feeling the last of her strength leave her body.

'Ancestors…protect her…' she whispered, one last tear oozing from her eye.

Her last breath left her body like a spirit rising from the grave as the wind dragoness began her final journey into the arms of the ancestors. The fate of the worlds now rested on the shoulders of young Kasumi, the orphan from the Gale realms. But what she didn't realise, was that the journey she had just embarked on would be longer than she expected. The adventure of her life had just begun.

* * *

**A/N: **There you have it. The plot begins to thicken and i have no idea whats going to happen. Review, friends, and i'll reward you with another chapter. ta-ta for now!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: hello again, friends, and welcome to a new update. First of all i want to thank NoOneToWorryAbout, lines22, and luna345 for reviewing. you guys are awesome :) Not much happens in this chapter in my opinion, but it needed to be written. I'm trying to form a plot in my head, but at the moment i'm just making this all up as i go. Read and enjoy and don't forget to review.

Disclaimer: no, i dont own Spyro. sigh.

* * *

Dragons of all shapes and sizes, glittering with scales of all different colours, packed the mighty city of Warfang. Rising high above the earth as a colossal stronghold for the dragons and their allies, Warfang was truly the majestic centre of the dragon realms. The market place in the large courtyard towards the centre of the city was a bustling area of lively activity. It was here, amongst the lively masses of dragons and moles, that Cynder found herself wandering between the colourful stalls. The black dragoness was too anxious, engulfed in her own thoughts, to pay much attention to the cheerful market place and the glittering merchandise.

She and the guardians had returned to Warfang barely an hour ago, and there had been no sign of Spyro or the glowing dragonfly, Sparx. Despite the large crowd of dragons around her, Cynder felt strangely alone without the purple dragon at her side. Even Sparx's irritating chatter was a sound that Cynder so longed to hear. If only she knew where they were, and if they were okay. She had hoped, although she had also doubted it, that Spyro and Sparx would be there to greet her when she and the guardians returned to Warfang. But the purple dragon and his adopted brother remained missing in action and Cynder was beginning to worry.

At first she had been angry that he had left without a word and without a warning, but now that he had been gone for more than half a day Cynder's anger had turned to anxiety. What if something had happened to him? Cynder could only hope that wherever he was, he was safe. She was still almost entirely sure that Lady Anara was the reason for Spyro's disappearance. And if that was the case, Cynder supposed that he would be heading towards the Realm of Radiance. She didn't know how far it was, but she could almost be sure that Spyro would be gone for a long while yet.

At that moment her musings were interrupted as a group of younglings dashed across her path, jostling her as their running paws kicked up clouds of sandy dust. Cynder sneezed as the dust went up her nose and watched the young dragons with irritation as they continued their playful race through the market place, dodging the legs of older dragons as they went. The black dragoness let out a heavy sigh as she turned away from the stalls, ignoring the glimmering anklets and gem-set necklets. She was in no mood for jewellery at the moment. Instead, she headed towards the north end of town where the dragon council would be gathering in the Grand Atrium. Perhaps attending the council would keep her mind off her anxieties about Spyro.

The Atrium was a large cylindrical building that took up almost half of the north wall and stood just as high. The blue tiled roof that rose to a central point glittered like the scales of the dragons, a golden weathervane standing tall in the centre. The brass guttering curved upwards in triangular points like shimmering petals, giving the atrium roof the appearance of a half-furled flower. Columns of sandstone, shaped like the soft twirls of liquorice, rose from the base to the guttering to give the large building a solid structure.

Cynder padded softly towards the magnificent building, stopping in front of the large double oak doors and pressing her shoulder against them. They creaked open slowly allowing the black dragoness entrance into the atrium. She slipped inside without hesitation and carefully pushed the doors closed behind her. Inside the building a short entrance hall led towards an elaborate archway that opened out into a large circular space that could house over fifty dragons. Cynder trotted along the corridor, noticing the tiled designs on the walls and the pearly marble structure of the archway.

Heads turned as she entered the main chamber through this large archway and caught the eyes of the guardians of Avalar. Volteer beamed at her and Cyril beckoned her over without hesitation.

'Ah, Cynder,' the ice guardian called, 'come to join us, have you? That's a good girl, we could use a smart head like yours, unlike the incessant blabbering of this electric fool.'

Volteer managed to look offended at Cyril's comment, but the electric guardian could never truly be annoyed at his pompous old friend. Cynder smiled politely as she took a seat between Volteer and Terrador, nodding respectfully at the five other dragons in the room. These dragons, along with the three guardians of Avalar and Spyro and Cynder, formed the company that was known as the Dragon Council of Avalar, or the DCA for short. They managed the city of Warfang and kept order amongst its citizens, as well as keeping peace with the other dragon realms and their leaders. This current meeting was concerned with the recently signed Treaty of Avalar.

Breaking the silence in the atrium, an old red dragon, his scales faded and worn after many long past battles, rose to speak. One of his eyes was milky white and cloudy and as a result he could see only through his left eye that remained as vibrant gold as it had been when he was young. This red dragon was Elder Ryokku, the elected leader of the DCA. He cleared his throat loudly as he stepped up to the marble podium where the current speaker always stood to address the council and cast his one good eye around the room.

'Perhaps my eyesight is not as good as it used to be,' he murmured in a deep husky voice, 'is the master Spyro not among us?'

Terrador was the one to answer him, standing up to speak as was the custom, 'Spyro is currently caught up with personal affairs, and will not be attending this meeting. Please, continue as normal, Elder Ryokku.'

Ryokku nodded his wizened head, blinking his old eyes, 'of course. We have gathered, we the council of Avalar, to welcome back the guardians of Avalar and the master Spyro and mistress Cynder. We are here, also, to discuss the Treaty of Avalar and the union of the Ten Realms. Guardians, I ask you to stand and address the council.'

Ryokku nodded once more before returning to his seat as Terrador, Cyril and Volteer stood up to take the podium. Cynder considered joining them, but decided to remain in her seat and listen, deciding she didn't have much to say. Terrador, as usual, started by addressing the council.

'Elder Ryokku,' he nodded towards the old red dragon, 'Elder Mouryo,' an old yellow dragon nodded in acknowledgment, 'Master Feldun,' the middle-aged blue dragon to the left of Ryokku nodded, 'Mistress Terrunda,' the pale green dragoness inclined her head, 'and Elder Seak,' an old grey dragoness bowed her grizzled head as she was addressed.

'We, the Guardians of Avalar, stand to address you the Council of Avalar. Volteer,' Terrador nodded at the guardian of electricity, inviting him to step forwards and speak.

Volteer took the invitation eagerly, unable to resist an opportunity to speak. As Cyril always said, his electric tongue never did stop wagging. The yellow dragon beamed at the council and started to speak. He explained the coming of the Lords and Ladies and told of the signing of the treaty, proud to say that it all went off without a hitch. Cynder, of course, would have said otherwise. If there ever was a hitch, Lady Anara was it. When Volteer was finally ushered off the podium by Cyril, Ryokku was the first to speak.

'These are prosperous times,' the old dragon purred, 'the signing of the Treaty has secured our world and we are safe to live our lives in peace. It is most pleasing to know that allies and friends surround us. Let us hope that it will stay that way for us and for all generations to come. Thankyou, Guardians of Avalar, for bringing these good tidings. It is a shame that Master Spyro is not present at the moment. Is there news of when he will return to Warfang?'

'We believe he is merely visiting his adoptive parents in the swamp near the dragon temple,' Terrador explained as Cyril and Volteer returned to their seats, 'when he will return, we cannot say, but rest assured that he will not be gone for too long.'

'_I wouldn't count on that…_' Cynder thought to herself, as she scowled at her paws. So much for forgetting about her worries. All the Elders wanted to do, it seemed, was talk about Spyro.

She itched to stand up, to tell the whole of the council about Anara and the strange conversation she had had with Spyro. She wanted to tell them that right now Spyro could be heading towards the Realm of Radiance and could be gone for a long while. She wanted to blurt out that he could be walking into danger, that the Lady of Radiance wasn't trustworthy. But all she did was sit and stare at her paws, silent, her anxieties unspoken. After all, she surmised, who would trust the former Terror of the Skies over the fair Lady Anara of Radiance? So Cynder said nothing and made none of her worries known to the council or to the guardians and when the meeting ending she left feeling very unsatisfied and even more anxious than before.

**

Night came and went without sign of Spyro or Sparx, leaving Cynder with a bad feeling in her stomach that stopped her from eating anything. Feeling quite ill, she sat out on the balcony outside her room and watched the rising sun turn the pale clouds gold. The beauty of the sunrise was lost on the worried black dragoness as she wondered where Spyro was at this very moment and if he was watching the same sunrise. She stayed there, watching the sky, until the sun rose above the horizon and the gold light of dawn gave way to vibrant blue skies. Unsure how long she had been there, Cynder was about to stand up when she heard voices outside her door. Volteer and Cyril must have been passing her room and Cynder hurried to her door to listen to what they were saying.

'It seems Spyro still hasn't shown up,' Volteer was saying, 'do you think perhaps he has gotten lost? Should we send out a search party?'

But Cyril snorted at this concept, 'oh pish-tosh, Spyro couldn't get lost no more than you could stop chattering. He's probably got sidetracked; he'll be back soon. No need to worry, old chap. Come now, morning tea should be just about ready…'

Their voices faded as they disappeared around the corner and Cynder scowled after them. No need to worry…the purple dragon was missing! If that wasn't a need to worry, she'd hate to know what _was_! Turning away from her door, she stormed towards the balcony, muttering about the incompetence and ignorance of the guardians. She made up her mind in a matter of seconds, ignoring the hunger pangs in her stomach and stepping out onto the balcony.

'If they're not going to go look for him, then I will do it myself! And if Spyro doesn't need to tell them before he goes off on his own, then I don't need to either!' her temper was up, flaring like a recently blown volcano, and in this state of fury she wasn't watching where she was going.

It was probably this that caused her to crash headlong into another dragon just as she was preparing to leap from the balcony. The other dragon gave a startled yelp of pain as the two of them were bowled over by the impact and sprawled across the balcony. Cynder groggily raised her head, wondering if her skull was split in two and what on earth she could have crashed into. Blinking stars from her vision, the black dragoness turned her head towards the object that had collided with her and her eyes widened in surprise. A small grey dragoness was shakily sitting up, shaking her head to clear the stars that had burst into her vision. Cynder jumped to her feet and hurried over to the small dragoness, nudging her to her feet.

'I'm so sorry! Are you ok?'

The grey dragoness blinked a few times and raised her ocean blue eyes to the emerald ones of Cynder. She jumped away, startled, and fell over onto her backside again. Looking dazed, she shook her head again and stared hazily at Cynder, who was a good head taller than her. Blushing with embarrassment, her eyes watering from the pain of crashing headlong into another dragon, the little grey dragon stuttered an apology.

'I-I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was flying,' she choked out, blinking her moist eyes.

Cynder immediately felt sorry for the little dragoness. Her body language gave the impression that she was quite lost and upset. Cynder spread a wing towards her room invitingly, smiling warmly at the grey dragoness.

'Are you lost?' Cynder asked, genuinely concerned, 'come sit down…'

As she led the hesitant dragoness into her room, Cynder pushed away her concern for Spyro. Wherever the purple dragon was, he could look after himself for a while; right now Cynder needed to focus on the problem at hand. This little dragoness, whoever she was, could use her help. Cynder ushered her towards the large cushions that covered the left wall of her room and beckoned for her to sit down. The little grey dragoness hesitated for a moment before sinking down onto one of the lime-green cushions and gazing at Cynder as she did the same.

'What's your name?' was the first thing Cynder asked when she had settled on a crimson cushion.

The faint blush on the grey dragoness's cheeks deepened as she realised she hadn't even introduced herself yet, stuttering as she attempted to answer.

'I-I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself, I…I'm Kasumi.'

Cynder nodded politely and bowed her head in greeting, 'my name is Cynder. It is a pleasure to meet you…'

At the very mention of the name 'Cynder' Kasumi had frozen in awed shock and was staring stunned at the black dragoness sitting in front of her. She opened her mouth a few times, gulping, but no words came out as she tried to express her awe. Cynder gave her a confused look, wondering if something was wrong with her guest.

'You…you're Cynder?!' Kasumi finally burst out, her eyes looking as if they were about to pop out, 'no way! _The _Cynder?'

Cynder let out a resigned sigh. So her reputation had preceded her, just as she had expected.

'That's right,' she muttered glumly, '_the _Cynder. Former Terror of the Skies and all that…'

'You helped save the _world_!' Kasumi gasped, her eyes shining with admiration, ignoring Cynder's glum mutterings, 'You're a _hero_!'

Cynder looked up in surprise and Kasumi blushed, stuttering, 'I-I mean…heroin.'

Cynder could only stare. It was true that she had assisted Spyro in saving the world from Malefor, but she had also contributed to the destruction of the world as Malefor's former right hand dragon, the Terror of the Skies. If her reputation had indeed preceded her, Cynder would have been sure that they remembered her as the Terror of the Skies. But here in front of her was a dragoness who saw her as the heroin who helped save the dragon race, not as the corrupted force that almost destroyed it. Was it possible that the dragon race saw her as a saviour instead of a threat? Perhaps, somehow, they had forgiven her sins.

Cynder bowed her head, conscious of the blush that was heating up her scales in embarrassment, 'I didn't do all that much, really. I just stayed with Spyro…by his side…'

'You were so brave,' Kasumi breathed, unable to hide her awe, 'you're amazing! And I'm sitting on a cushion in a room in a place I don't know speaking to a dragoness who helped save the world.'

She was silent for a moment, as though unable to find a word to express what she was feeling. The only word she could come up with was a short, three-letter word that summed everything up in one go.

'Wow.'

Embarrassed by Kasumi's praise of her, Cynder quickly turned the conversation away from herself, 'if I may ask, where are you from? I haven't seen you around and you don't act like you know this place…'

For the third time in the space of a few minutes Kasumi apologised, 'I'm so sorry, I should have explained! I'm from the Gale Realm. Its not too far from here, but it took me all night to fly here...' her voice trailed off as quite suddenly her blue eyes filled with tears.

Confused as to why the young dragoness could be crying, Cynder continued to question her, 'but why did you fly all the way here in one night? Has something happened?'

Immediately her thoughts turned to Spyro and his disappearance. Had someone in the Gale Realm seen him and sent Kasumi to tell the guardians? Maybe something bad had happened to him…

'My mother…' Kasumi whispered, her voice catching in her throat, 'she told…me to. I…couldn't argue.'

Awkwardly Cynder stood up and nestled beside Kasumi, covering the distressed dragoness with a comforting wing. Something bad had happened, Cynder was sure of it. Whether it was something that affected the whole of the realms, or merely something trivial, Cynder wasn't sure.

'What happened? Tell me,' Cynder ordered as gently as she could.

'Mother…' Kasumi murmured, blinking away the hot tears that threatened to fall, 'she was pregnant. She said I would have a baby brother. But… I was coming back from picking leeks…I was going to make her a soup. She…she was…reading the pool…I hadn't seen her read the pool in so long. I was afraid.'

Cynder stared down at the shaking grey dragoness, wondering if she had heard correctly, 'read the pool? You can't be talking about the Pool of Visions can you?'

Ignitus was the only dragon she had ever known who was able to read the pool. As far as she was aware, he was the only one who could. But what had this dragoness seen in the pool, had it been something terrible?

'Yes,' Kasumi nodded, 'the Pool of Visions. Mother…she was special. She could see the images in the pool. She could read them. She said it was a privilege. I…I thought it was a curse.'

Kasumi bowed her head, trying to ignore the tear that rolled down her scaled cheek, 'I hated it when she read the pool, I was always afraid of what she would see, of what it could mean. And she became so weak after she saw those visions. And that's why…' she gritted her teeth in anger, 'that's why she died! That stupid pool and its stupid visions, it made her weak, it sapped her strength!' Kasumi's tears were falling freely now and her eyes were filled with a kind of furious sadness, 'she couldn't handle it, she wasn't strong enough. I tried to care for her; I so wanted to have a little brother. I wanted…I wanted mother to live, to be free and happy again. But she went and read the pool again, even though she knew she couldn't handle it! It wasn't fair…it wasn't fair.'

Kasumi became silent; her shoulders racked with sobs as Cynder awkwardly comforted her. She knew this young dragoness was quite distraught by what had taken place, but what Cynder really wanted to know was what her mother had seen in the pool. There must have been a reason why she wanted Kasumi to fly all the way to Warfang. Slowly Kasumi violent sobs faded away and the young dragoness regained a hold on her emotions. She looked guiltily up at Cynder, blinking tears from her eyes.

'I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…I just,' her voice faltered and she lowered her gaze.

Cynder felt a pang of sympathy for the grey dragoness, 'It's ok. You needed to let it out. But I need you to tell me, what did your mother see in the pool?'

Kasumi shook her head slowly, 'I don't know. She didn't tell me. She just said 'bad things'…'bad things are going to happen'. I don't know what she meant, but she told me to fly to Warfang, to warn everyone. I did what I had to do.'

Cynder let out a sigh. Kasumi didn't know what had been seen in the pool. But whatever it was, it must have been bad. Otherwise Kasumi's mother wouldn't have told her to warn the dragons of Warfang. Whatever these bad things were, Cynder had a feeling that in some way they were connected to Spyro's disappearance. Kasumi stood up abruptly, startling the black dragoness.

'I need to see the guardians,' Kasumi said, moving towards the door, 'mother told me to warn them.'

Cynder moved quickly, planting herself firmly between Kasumi and the door to the corridor. Kasumi look shocked, confusion swimming in her eyes. Cynder shook her head.

'Wait. Just, wait for a moment.'

'Why?' Kasumi asked curiously, staring at the black dragoness as she tried to figure it out. Why couldn't she see the guardians yet?

'You've heard of me,' Cynder started to explain, 'then you must have heard of Spyro?'

Kasumi gave her an incredulous look, 'of course! Everyone alive has heard of the great purple dragon, Spyro! Why, will I get to meet him?' She looked positively ecstatic at the mere thought.

'He's not here,' Cynder muttered abruptly.

'He's…not?' Kasumi asked, shocked by the sudden abrupt statement, 'but, this is Warfang, the great dragon city. If he's anywhere, he should be here! He needs to know that my mother saw something in the pool! Why isn't he here!?'

Cynder ushered her away from the door and towards the balcony, 'just calm down and listen to me!' Kasumi shut her mouth quickly, 'Spyro's been gone since yesterday morning. No one knows where he went or why, but I have my suspicions. And now that you've come all the way from the Gale Realms with a warning of bad things to come, my suspicions are making even more sense.'

Cynder looked around suspiciously before nudging Kasumi out onto the balcony and sliding the door closed behind them. Her voice was so hushed, Kasumi could barely hear what she had to say, 'something strange is happening. Just the other day, during the signing of the Treaty of Avalar, a strange lady from the Realm of Radiance tried to convince Spyro to return to her realm with her. She said that there was a tyrant taking over her realm and she needed his help. But no one else has heard of such a thing, it just doesn't add up. I don't trust her. And Spyro disappeared the next morning without so much as a goodbye. He was gone when we woke up. I'm sure the Lady of Radiance is behind it. And if your mother saw something bad in the Pool of Visions, it must have had something to do with Spyro disappearing. I'm almost sure of it.'

Kasumi could only stare at the black dragoness as she related her suspicions, 'well, if that's what you think, then we need to go tell the guardians! They need to be warned! Come on, we'll go now!'

But Cynder spread her wings to their full span, blocking Kasumi's way, 'no!'

The grey dragoness stumbled back in shock and Cynder repeated it again, gentler, 'no.'

Kasumi shook her head to show her confusion, not understanding at all why Cynder just wouldn't let her go to the guardians. Cynder sighed heavily and explained.

'Listen. The Lady of Radiance, she was one of the ones who signed the treaty. The guardians trust her. They'd never believe she'd kidnap Spyro. And I just know that they wont believe me. I'm not sure they entirely trust me…after all I did used to be Malefor's right hand dragoness.'

'But that's stupid,' Kasumi cried, tossing her head and look irritated by the injustice of it all, 'you're different. You helped Spyro save the world! Of course they'll listen to you!'

Cynder stood her ground, shaking her head furiously, 'we don't know that! And besides, what if I'm wrong? I can't just go around accusing realm leaders without proof! And they think Spyro's just off doing something trivial. We don't want them to worry.'

Kasumi expelled a puff of smoke with a resigned sigh, defeated, 'well, ok then. But what do you propose we do? I can't just ignore my mother's warning.'

'Of course you can't,' Cynder agreed, her eyes alight with a strange flame of determination, 'and that's why we're going to go find Spyro ourselves.'

'We're _what_?' Kasumi gaped at the black dragoness, wondering if she had heard her correctly.

Cynder's eyes glittered with excitement, 'that's right. If Spyro's out there somewhere, we'll find him and bring him back.'

'You know where he's gone?'

'I have a hunch, and I'm pretty sure I'm right,' Cynder growled, smoke curling from her nostrils, 'we'll find him, without doubt. So, are you ready?'

'Y-you want me to come with you?' Kasumi gaped, 'but, this is the first time I've ever left my own realm! What if I get us lost, what if we run into trouble?!'

'Don't worry,' Cynder reassured her, 'I'll be right beside you. And I need you with me. After all, you're the only other dragon I've told about this. We can do this together, can't we?'

Kasumi gazed hesitantly at Cynder's fiery eyes, her face lit up with anticipation. The grey dragoness couldn't help but allow a roguish grin to slip onto her face, 'you're right. We can do this together.'

Cynder unfurled her wings and turned towards the edge of the balcony, 'brilliant! Let's do this, Kasumi! Your mother may have seen terrible things in the Pool of Visions, but whatever they were, we're going to stop them before they happen!'

Kasumi yelled her agreement to the sky as the two dragoness leapt from the balcony, spreading their wings to catch the wind. Flying into the sun they left the mighty city of Warfang behind in their search for the purple dragon. Kasumi smiled to herself, feeling more alive than she had ever been before.

'_I'll make you proud, mother, I promise. Whatever happens, we're going to save the world. I wont let you down. We're going to stop this evil before it takes hold!_'

But the two dragonesses didn't know what they were flying into. The evil they were setting out to prevent might just be bigger than the both of them.

* * *

A/N: thanks for reading, I'll have the next chapter up as soon as i can. please review and you'll make my day. Until next time, goodbye for now.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I am so, so sorry for the long wait for this chapter! Lately I've been bombarded with a whole bunch of schoolwork, stress, and a distinct lack of creativity -.- but all that aside, I finally found some time to type this up. Also, thankyou very much to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter :) You guys are my motivation for writing this. Read and enjoy.

* * *

"Anara's her name, and she's a really light yellow colour," Cynder was explaining to Kasumi as they flew, filling her in on everything she knew and suspected. They had left Warfang only minutes ago and the dragon city was still visible behind them, but Cynder was about to realise that she didn't have any clue where they were heading. She had just told Kasumi where she had suspected Spyro to have gone: the Realm of Radiance. However, she was ill prepared for the grey dragoness's response.

"The Realm of Radiance?" had they been walking instead of flying Kasumi's jaw may well have hit the ground, "are you _serious_? Do you have any idea how long it's going to take us to get there?"

Cynder blinked, slightly put off by Kasumi's startled answer, "um, well, no. I've never been to the Realm of Radiance before, but it can't be that far…"

Kasumi could only stare, her eyes filled with incredulity, "you mean you don't actually know where we're going? Oh great. I thought you might have had at least _some _idea. I may have never left the Gale Realms before now, but at least I know the situations of the other realms. Mother often told me about them. They're all connected, one after the other, like links in a chain. And the Realm of Radiance just happens to be at the end of that chain. It's the furthest realm away from here, nearest to the Luna Realms. It could take us a whole month to get there."

Cynder gaped at her, narrowly missing a tree because she wasn't looking ahead, and wondering if she had heard the grey dragoness correctly, "a _month_? You can't be serious? If that's the case it'll take Spyro and Anara a month, too!"

But Kasumi shook her head and Cynder's spirits sank, "no it wont, Anara's a dragon of radiance. Every realm has a secret pathway that leads straight to the realm, bypassing all others. Mother called them Convexity Corridors. But only dragons born in that realm know how to open their Convexity Corridors. Once the corridors are opened, it'll take two days at most to fly back to their realm. Anara will have taken Spyro along that corridor if they really are heading for her realm."

The black dragoness felt quite irritated by this piece of information, "you should have told me about this sooner," she growled at the smaller dragoness before a stray gust of wind turned her head over heels.

Recovering from her mid-air tumble, Cynder looked around with a confused expression on her face, wondering where the gust of wind could have come from. Kasumi sniffed.

"Don't take your anger out on me," she retorted, swishing her tail, "you should have told me where we were going first. How was I to know you wanted to go all the way to the Realm of Radiance?"

Cynder narrowed her eyes, expelling smoke from her nostrils, "you're a wind dragon, aren't you?"

Kasumi smirked proudly at the fuming black dragoness, "that's right, I can manipulate the wind. So don't annoy me or I'll make you turn somersaults in the air again."

Cynder sighed, knowing someone had to act like the adult before it turned into a full-blown argument "ok, I'm sorry, I'm just frustrated. Do you know how to get to the Realm of Radiance?"

The grey dragoness nodded slowly, thinking hard, 'I think so. We wont be able to catch up with Spyro if he's gone through the Convexity Corridor, but if we fly hard and fast we may be able to get there in a week or two."

It was a long time to fly, but Cynder knew they didn't have a choice. No matter how far it was, they needed to get Spyro back before something terrible happened. There was no shortcut; they were just going to have to push forwards. Cynder nodded, her eyes set with determination.

"If that's what it takes…what do you think the shortest way will be?"

Kasumi turned her head into the wind, her eyes narrowed against the sting of its cold whipping force, "if we skirt around the realms it could take us more than a month. Our quickest way would be to cut through the middle of the realms, without a doubt. We may be slowed down going through the other realms, but it will still be the quickest way."

"Then it's settled," Cynder agreed, "we'll cut straight through the realms and get Spyro back. No stopping, no flagging, and absolutely no giving up until we get our purple dragon back!"

With those words, Cynder shot ahead like a black bullet, her wings angled against her body to decrease wind resistance. Kasumi flew after her, manipulating the wind to push her along and yelling after the black dragoness.

"Hey, wait for me!"

* * *

Shimmering lights lashed his scales, like brilliant white whips that cut the air. Wind caught the membranes on his wings, pushing him further and further into a world that didn't truly seem real. An opalescent tunnel curled around him protectively, blocking out the sky and the earth. Spyro couldn't truly be sure if this were real. For him, who had never been inside a Convexity Corridor, it seemed as unreal as a dreamscape. Ahead of him, her scales reflecting the opal-coloured lights, Anara led the way through the corridor. Spyro strained to keep up with her, flapping his wings mightily against the wind, but getting nowhere. Sparx was no help, his attention completely taken by the jewel-like surface that surrounded them, staring open-mouthed at the walls of the corridor.

"Don't flap, Spyro," came Anara's voice from up ahead, "let the wind carry you."

Her voice seemed to echo throughout the corridor and Spyro swore the shimmering, moving lights were reacting to the sound of her voice. Hesitantly he did as she ordered, stopping his furious flapping and holding his wings in the glide position. Immediately the wind seemed to pick him up from underneath and he felt an odd sensation of light-headedness as it carried him along. Sparx gave a whoop of surprise as the wind caught him and bore him along. It was like a living thing, Spyro thought, dominating the corridor and guiding its guests through.

"This is incredible!" he yelled to Anara, enjoying the sensation of flying without flapping his wings, "what is this place?"

Spyro had been quite confused when Anara had suddenly halted them in the middle of nowhere. He had been even more confused when she had started to glow and was quite shocked when the grass and blue sky of the earthen world was replaced by this shimmering dreamscape. Spyro had experienced many incidents in dream-like worlds, including the many times he had fainted only to appear in a world of dreams that the past Chronicler had guided him through. Even so, he hadn't expected to be transported so suddenly into a tunnel of light that seemed to shimmer and move on its own.

"This is what we call a convexity corridor," Anara answered, stretching her yellow wings wide, "it will cut our journey to my realm by about two weeks. We'll be there within a day."

"Amazing!" Spyro exclaimed, his eyes alight with the prospect of adventure, "why haven't I heard of this before?"

"Probably because you haven't been outside of Avalar before," Anara explained, "these corridors operate between realms, not within them. Of course, you can only open the ones you know about."

Spyro looked a little irritated, "well, the guardians could have at least told me about them…"

Sparx wasn't enjoying the corridor as much as the two dragons were. The wind spun him around and around in pirouettes as he was pushed along, his arms crossed in annoyance. He glared at the purple dragon each time the wind spun him around to face him.

"What are _you _getting annoyed about, you purple lump?" Sparx asked, "You're not the one being tossed about here! Gah, what's with this wind?! Spyro, give me a hand would you buddy?'

But Spyro only laughed at the sight of the yellow dragonfly being tossed around by the wind. Sparx hunched his shoulders and pouted. The wind continued buffeting the dragonfly playfully, who gave a resigned sigh and gave up trying to resist it. He'd just have to deal with it, until of course the light showed at the end of the tunnel. Somewhere ahead of them the Realm of Radiance awaited.

* * *

It was an unfamiliar sensation to both of them when they finally crossed the realm barrier between Avalar and the realm beyond. Cynder thought her scales were standing on end as an odd feeling of electricity rippled through her body. Craning her head to the side, Cynder noted that Kasumi didn't seem to be faring much better. The wind dragoness's eyes were screwed shut, her face set in a grimace and her wings quivering oddly. Blinking a few times to clear the dots of light that had burst in her vision, Cynder peered ahead to see only foggy white clouds.

"Hey, Kasumi, is this…normal?" she yelled to her grey friend, "I can hardly see a thing and my scales feel like they're vibrating!"

"I don't know!" Kasumi's voice sounded scared and Cynder thought she detected a sob, "I didn't feel like this when I entered your realm! I don't understand!"

"What about the fog?" Cynder asked, feeling particularly nervous and wishing the vibrating sensation would stop, "did you see fog when you left your realm?"

At least this time the answer was positive, "yes! It cleared after a moment, though!"

Cynder breathed a sigh of relief, relishing in the fact that her eyes had not suddenly developed cataracts. Now if only the fog would clear. Cynder banked to the right suddenly as a bolt of what looked like white lightning ripped through the clouds in front of her. She couldn't stop a yelp of shock from leaving her mouth as she spiralled out of the way, receiving a mouthful of fog that turned to dew in her mouth. Behind her Kasumi gave a similar startled yelp and Cynder could feel panic rising in her gut. But just as she was ready to scream from pure helplessness, the fog seemed to evaporate and the skies turned a crisp sharp grey.

Swallowing the scream that had risen in her throat, Cynder spread her wings wide and halted her descent to gaze out over the realm. Kasumi came flapping up behind her, breathing heavily and looking both panicked and relieved at the same time. At the sight of Cynder's awed expression, Kasumi turned her eyes out over the realm and gaped in wonder. Rippling gold and silver bolts of lightning lit the pale sky with a vibrant flashing light as below them stretched a forest of grey-green leaves and silvery trees. In the distance, Cynder could make out a temple that rose above the earth like a colossal golden mountain, its base surrounded by huts and buildings that formed a large township. The two dragonesses turned this way and that, awed by the lightning strikes and the crackling vitality of electricity that filled the air.

"This is…" murmured Cynder, her emerald eyes reflecting her wonder, "the realm of electricity…"

"The Ampere Realms," Kasumi purred, her face light up by the clashing bolts of lightning that cut the sky.

Cynder felt a grin spread across her muzzle as she realized something, "well, that explains that odd sensation we felt before. Our bodies must have been adapting to the natural electricity in the air. Come on, we should keep going."

Together the two dragonesses soared across the flashing sky, dipping lower to fly over the vast forest of silver trees. Kasumi let her paws brush against the canopy of shimmering leaves as she gazed ahead at the temple in the distance. She had just opened her mouth to ask Cynder whether they should stop at the temple, when the trees ahead of them suddenly seemed to explode. Shrieking in fear and shock, Cynder and Kasumi banked to the side as an incredible force of pure electricity burst through the canopy and lit up the sky. By the time it had subsided the trees that had been in the centre of the blast had been stripped of all leaves and were smoking as though fire had just swept through them. Cynder flapped hesitantly over to the smoking patch of trees, Kasumi hovering timidly behind her.

"What in the name of Ancestors was that?"

Everything suddenly seemed still, eerily quiet, as they glided down to the trees and strained their eyes to see through the rising smoke. Cynder let herself hover slowly downward, passing the charred canopy and slipping between the smoking trunks. Kasumi remained above, afraid of what could be waiting at the base of the trees. As the black dragoness came closer to the earth, she heard through the smoke the sound of heavy, exhausted breathing.

"Haah…haah…"

As the smoke cleared the form of a yellow dragon kneeling on the ground came into view and Cynder frowned as her body tensed for trouble. But as she came closer, it became obvious that this was a female and she was in no fit state to cause trouble. From the heavy breathing and slumped poster, Cynder could gather that this dragoness was very exhausted. Had it been she who had caused the explosion?

"Damn…bastards…" came the strained voice of the yellow dragoness, between breaths, "making me use…such a strong attack…"

Cynder landed almost soundlessly, her paws crunching charred leaves softly. But even that quiet noise seemed to alert the yellow dragoness, who spun around with a determined look of fury in her violet eyes. Cynder held up a paw, pad forward, reassuring the dragoness that she meant no harm. The fury on the yellow dragoness's face disappeared at the gesture and she let out a heavy sigh.

"Who…are you?" she asked, chest heaving, "no one else…ever comes…into the silver forest…"

"My name is Cynder," the black dragoness replied, "I'm not from this realm, so I…"

"Terror of the Skies," the yellow dragoness cut her off, regaining her breath slowly, "Cynder, the strongest dragoness the world has ever known. Even when you were evil, I idolized you. What could you possibly be doing here?"

Cynder what taken aback by the way this dragoness addressed her, and stared dumbly at her for a moment. Just as she was about to answer, a bone-chilling howl ripped through the air, causing her black scales to stand on end. The yellow dragoness turned her head, snarling, and the red crest that adorned her head standing on end. She attempted to stand up straight, but fell back on her haunches with a grunt.

"Damn it, I've got nothing left. We should get out of here before they come back," she muttered, her claws digging trenches in the dirt.

"Before what comes back?" Cynder asked in confusion, before the yellow dragoness pointed at a half-charred carcass to her left.

"Them."

Cynder turned her head towards the carcass and caught a glimpse of a hideous face, charred almost to ashes, it mouth ajar in a many-toothed snarl. With a yelp of horror, she stepped back and curled her lip. The yellow dragoness dragged her body upright, spreading her wings for balance as she looked over her shoulder.

"Wolves," she explained, "they rule this forest. That's why no one ever comes here. Let's go, Cynder."

The casual way in which she used her name caught Cynder off guard. They had known each other for a space of five minutes, and already the yellow dragoness was treating her like a long-lost friend. And what exactly did she mean by 'even when you were evil, I idolized you'? But Cynder had no time to ponder it as the yellow dragoness pushed herself into the air and flapped up towards the canopy. Another howl rang through the forest and Cynder followed suit, not wanting to meet the beast that the howl belonged to. Noticing that the yellow dragoness was having trouble keeping in the air due to fatigue, Cynder called out to her friend.

"Kasumi!"

The grey dragoness poked her head timidly down into a gap between the foliage. Cynder beckoned to her and she carefully descended to their level, giving the yellow dragoness a wary look.

"She's exhausted, Kasumi, could you give her some help? You _are _a wind dragon, after all," Cynder explained.

Kasumi blushed and complied silently, flapping her wings to create a stream of air that bore the tired yellow dragoness upward. Kasumi and Cynder followed to the top of the canopy and looked to her for directions. The yellow dragoness stared at them; glad for the respite that Kasumi's air cushion provided her with. Yet another howl reached their ears and Kasumi's navy eyes widened in fear.

"M-maybe we should get out of here…"

The yellow dragoness nodded slowly, "you're right, little wind dragon. We should go before those wolves find their dead comrades and come seeking us for revenge. I'm Esmeralda, by the way, and you are?"

Kasumi's eyes widened even more, if it was possible, at the mention of wolves. She answered the question timidly, "uh…Kasumi…"

"If I may ask…" Cynder began, but Esmeralda cut her off yet again.

"Save it, I'll answer your questions when we get back to the village," she murmured, looking towards the golden temple beyond the trees, "and maybe you'll answer mine."

Cynder considered the electricity dragon for a moment with hard eyes, staring her down. But Esmeralda stared straight back, violet eyes unafraid as her gaze refused to waver. The black dragoness nodded once, flapping her crimson wings and turning towards the temple. Kasumi followed, kept the air current flowing beneath Esmeralda to keep her airborne.

"Very well," Cynder called back to the yellow dragoness, "but I'm in a bit of a rush, so don't keep us too long."

Esmeralda gave no answer as the three of them headed towards the temple and away from the howling of the wolves and the silver forest. Too timid to break the silence, Kasumi flew between them without a word, her scales still quivering from the thought of wolves. Even the smallest of lightning bolts caused her to jump. The flight to the temple seemed a lot longer than it really was, their nerves on edge and yearning for the safety of enclosing walls.

Esmeralda led them down towards the mighty golden temple, ignoring their awed expression as they gazed at the magnificent building. Glittering like the sun itself, the walls of the temple curled around into a cylindrical shape. The roof of the temple was flat, however five long pole-like structures angled upwards from the edge of the roof to a point in the centre. Cynder noticed with interest as lightning crackled down from the sky and struck the topmost point, sending rippling waves of electricity down the poles. Esmeralda led them towards the vast double doors and landed carefully before them, staggering slightly from exhaustion. Cynder and Kasumi landed beside her as the yellow dragoness strode forwards and pressed her forehead against the doors, closing her eyes. The doors creaked open moments later and Esmeralda strode through them, beckoning to the other two to follow her. Cynder gave the outside of the building one last curious glance before following Esmeralda inside, Kasumi on her heels.

No soon had their eyes adjusted to the dimmer light of the interior had their ears been assaulted by a shrieking high-pitched yell. Cynder winced and glared past Esmeralda as a large group of electricity dragons came pounding up to them.

"Es!" one yelled, her cyan eyes wide with excitement, "did you do it?"

Esmeralda gave her an irritated look before proudly replying, "of course I did. Otherwise I wouldn't have come back."

The laughs and cheers of the other dragons could have lifted the roof and Cynder and Kasumi covered their ears, cringing at the noise. Ignoring the questions and shrieks of her fellow electricity dragons, Esmeralda roughly pushed her way through them.

"Come on, make way, you worms! I've got guests!" she pushed a smaller dragon out of the way unceremoniously, gesturing to Cynder and Kasumi as she did so.

"Come on, Es! Tell us what happened!" yelled one of the male dragons, his scales the rich colour of deep gold.

He blocked Esmeralda's way and it was obvious he was quite a bit larger and older then the female, but she gave him an annoyed look and pushed him away despite his size. He staggered at the force of her push before spinning around and biting her tail. It wasn't a hard bite and it didn't break the skin, but it was enough to halt Esmeralda in her tracks. She turned, glaring at the dragon that had his teeth in her tail.

"For the love of…" she snarled, violet eyes flashing irately, "Get your filthy fangs out of my tail, Zannak, you buffoon!"

The golden dragon, Zannak, snickered and refused to let go of her tail. The other dragons laughed uproariously until Esmeralda spun around to face them, tearing her tail from Zannak's mouth and leaping on the three dragons closest to her. They squealed and squirmed under her weight, biting her paws and attempting to flap their wings. Suddenly, as though someone had just shouted 'fair game!', the rest of the dragons dived on top of Esmeralda, flattening her and the dragons beneath her to the ground. Cynder looked alarmed and moved forwards to help only to stop when she heard the sound of laughing. She peered around the pile of laughing dragons to find Esmeralda's face sticking out from the bottom of the pile. She was grinning, her face squashed between the rump of one dragon and the ribs of another. Cynder raised an eyebrow as Kasumi remained on the sidelines, looking concerned.

Esmeralda smirked, "They're always like this…Zannak's on top isn't he?"

Cynder craned her head to the top of the pile and sure enough could see the proud form of the golden dragon as he stood regally on top of all the others. He flashed his ivory teeth in a wide grin and proclaimed loudly to the rest of the room.

"I am the victor! Hear that, Es? I'm the greatest of them all!"

Esmeralda growled playfully from the bottom of the pile, and Zannak peered down from his position to smirk at her half-buried face, "and you're stuck all the way down there."

Cynder let out a resigned sigh, returning to Kasumi's side with a mutter that sounded something like, "morons…"

Finally, after almost a full minute of being buried under a tower of dragons, Esmeralda couldn't take it anymore. She growled and pushed upwards with all her might, electricity crackling deep within her throat. With a mighty roar Esmeralda threw her head back and sent the pile crashing down around her in a tangle of legs and wings. Zannak gave a yelp of surprise as he was toppled from his perch and landed unceremoniously flat on his stomach. Ruffling her wings and puffing heavily, Esmeralda gave the rest of the group a rogue grin.

"Be off with you, worms," she grinned, "I'll inform you about what happened _after _I deal with my guests. That includes you, Zannak!'

The gold dragon who had been sneaking around behind Esmeralda swore quietly as she turned and glowered at him. He grinned, nipping her cheek playfully before leading the rest of the motley array of dragons out the door of the temple. Esmeralda watched them go, smirking to herself, before turning to Cynder and Kasumi.

"Sorry about that, I should have known that would happen. Follow me. I need to rest before I collapse. I've used up too much energy today."

Cynder nodded slowly and Kasumi smiled timidly before Esmeralda turned and led them down the corridor. After a few moments she turned left into another corridor and came to a small archway that led into a circular room. Cynder and Kasumi followed her curiously into the room and peered about. There were large cushions lying around the room, much like the ones in Cynder's room, and there were no windows. But what was most odd about this room was the strange contraption lying against the far wall. A thin gold rod led from the roof to a strange metal square on the floor. The gold rod sparked and crackled as though it was filled with electricity. Esmeralda padded towards the simple contraption without hesitation and settled herself on the metal platform. She heaved a sigh and let her head droop onto the cold hardness of the metal as electrical currents surged through her tired body. Cynder and Kasumi stared in amazement.

Esmeralda noticed their looks and explained, "this is a recharging station. We electricity dragons come here to replenish our supply of electricity in our bodies. The gold rod channels electricity from the roof down into this metal platform where it enters our bodies. You saw the spire on top of the roof, didn't you? It attracts electricity from the air and channels it through the building and down the golden rods."

Cynder nodded in understanding, while Kasumi nodded with a slightly confused look on her face, not quite comprehending the information she had just been given. Esmeralda gestured towards the cushions that lay against the wall.

"Take a seat. It seems we have some things to talk about."

Cynder did as she was bidden and dragged one of the large cushions to a spot on the floor in front of Esmeralda. The two dragonesses waited until Kasumi had done the same before starting to talk. Cynder spoke first, eager to get answers and be on her way.

"First of all,' the black dragoness began, "can you tell us what you were doing in that forest?"

Esmeralda grinned, "is that all? Huh, I'll tell you if you answer me my question."

Cynder frowned and Kasumi chewed her lip silently, "and what might that be?"

Esmeralda shrugged, inclining her head to the side slightly as she considered the two dragonesses before her.

"It's simple enough. Just tell me what the great Cynder and her friend could be doing here of all places? And why, tell me, are you not with the mighty purple dragon, Spyro?"

Cynder had no choice but to tell her.

* * *

The end of the Convexity Corridor hit Spyro with the force of a hurricane. It was as though a tremendous amount of wind had just gushed past him, and yet somehow he still managed to remain airborne without being pushed back. Blinking as he regained his balance and flapping his wings once he realised the supporting air currents of the corridor were gone, Spyro looked around for his friends. Sparx hovered over to him, looking relieved that the corridor had finally ended as Anara appeared beside him.

"Thank the ancestors," muttered the dragonfly, "I'm never going in one of _them _again!"

Spyro smirked at his adoptive brother before turning to Anara with a questioning look on his face, "are we here, Anara, is this your realm?"

"Yes, Spyro," she purred in answer, "take a look."

Spyro blinked and turned his head to the front, squinting his eyes as they became used to the light. But the sight he saw was not a pleasant one. The brilliant white skies of the Realm of Radiance where tainted with grey smoke as beasts the likes of which Spyro had never seen roamed between the once pristine buildings. Their heads too grotesque to describe and their bodies the disgusting colour of putrid grey, these beasts carried long whips in their hands that they used to lash out at all and any dragons who got in their way. Dragons everywhere were shackled together and huddled away from the beasts, bowing their heads as they trembled in fear. Spyro stared at the scene in horror.

"This…this is terrible!" he almost yelled, turning frantically to Anara, "how long has this been going on?"

She gazed over the city with a look of grief on her face, "it's become much worse since I left…come, Spyro, we have not much time! We must go to the temple! I can only hope my dragons may have held out there long enough for me to return."

Spyro didn't argue as Anara swooped towards the distant white temple, unable to tear his eyes away from the horrid beasts that roamed the city. Sparx hovered beside the purple dragon, looking disgusted.

"Sheesh, what the heck are those things?" the dragonfly muttered, "uglier than a frogweed's ass, they are."

Ignoring his brother's crass language, Spyro flew steadily after Anara, hoping the beasts wouldn't look up and see him. He didn't want to look; he didn't want to see the terrible of sight of fellow dragons being tormented. Whoever was behind this…whoever was leading these beasts…Spyro swore he would bring their leader down. Anara swooped low as they came close to the temple, heading towards the beast that stood before the doors. Her expression furious, she opening her mouth and emitted a large shriek, along with a brilliant beam of white light that hit the beast straight in the chest. With a howl of pain, the beast stumbled and fell, disintegrating to ashes before it hit the ground. Spyro stared at Anara in amazement, shocked by her sheer strength.

She landed quickly on the spot the beast had previously occupied and threw her body against the doors. They opened with a bang and she raced inside, beckoning Spyro to follow. He did so, Sparx on his tail, sparing the city another glance before entering the temple. Racing along the corridor after Anara, Spyro couldn't help but notice the complete absence of dragons and the eerie silence that filled the building. Anara didn't seem to notice a thing, hurrying towards the large door at the far end of the corridor. Spyro felt an ominous feeling enter his bones as his scales stood on end. Something wasn't right…where were all the dragons? And why was there no noise from outside? There wasn't even any screaming from tormented dragons, nothing but eerie silence.

Anara lunged at the door, sending it flying open as she leapt into the large circular room and raised her head to the ceiling as Spyro raced up behind her with Sparx.

"Grandfather! I've brought him! I brought the purple dragon!"

Spyro blinked and looked around, expecting to see an old dragon hidden against one of the walls. Anara's grandfather had to be here somewhere. They waited in silence for a moment and Anara padded gently towards the centre of the room, beckoning for Spyro to follow. As he followed, the purple dragon failed to notice the markings on the floor that all pointed towards the centre of the room. It was obvious they had not been there when the temple was built. But Spyro's eyes weren't on the floor as he strode into the very centre and gazed around the building, searching for Anara's grandfather.

"Well done, Anara," a voice came seemingly from nowhere, echoing around the room like the deep tolling of a bell, "you have exceeded my expectations."

Spyro gazed around the room, frantically searching for the owner of the voice but seeing no one. Anara had backed away from the centre and was gazing up at the ceiling. There was a strange look in her ruby eyes and Spyro felt uneasy for no good reason.

"Grandfather, I am honoured by your praise," she called to the voice, "I believe he will be able to help."

Spyro looked around, confused, "of course I can help! I'll help you save your realm!"

The voice gave a deep, hair-raising chuckle, "oh yes, I believe he will be quite suitable. But get rid of that annoying pest will you?"

"What?" Spyro yelled, confused.

His attention was caught by a yell from Sparx and he turned to see that Anara had him wrapped securely in her tail, squeezing the life from the glowing insect. Spyro's eyes grew wide with alarm and he yelled his adopted brother's name and made to step towards them.

"Sparx! What the hell are you doing?"

But no sooner had he spoken did Spyro realise he couldn't move his legs. It was as though they were glued to the floor. His legs refused to obey his commands and he stared horrified at Anara as she continued to constrict Sparx. She stared back at him, expressionless, her ruby eyes flashing. The voice in the ceiling gave another blood-curdling laugh and Spyro craned his head upwards.

"Your power is greater than I could ever have imagined, young dragon," crowed the deep voice, "I am glad. You really will be of some help, after all."

Spyro was powerless to do anything, gazing helplessly at Sparx and wishing frantically he hadn't trusted Anara so easily. Sparx groaned and strained to get out of the white dragoness's grip, gritting his teeth in pain as the air was slowly squeezed out of him. But neither purple dragon nor yellow dragonfly could hope to escape once the floor began to glow with a deep purple light. Sparx could only watch in horror as his adoptive brother was swallowed up by the light and disappeared from view.

* * *

A/N: thankyou very much for reading, and I'll try to have the next chapter up by christmas. Ta-ta for now!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Ah, I'm so sorry. I meant to have this chapter up a few days ago, but i got distracted by the hustle and bustle of christmas and all that. Forgive me for the lack of Spyro in this chapter, I'm sure you're edgily waiting to know what has happened to him. This seems like such a 'nothing' chapter...sigh. Oh well, I hope you enjoy it none-the-less. Read, review and enjoy! :)

* * *

The tense silence that filled the room made Cynder jittery, but she never broke her gaze from that of Esmeralda's. The yellow dragoness seemed to be scrutinizing Cynder closely with her narrowed violet eyes and Kasumi was shifting edgily in her seat, casting nervous glances between them. At last, as though unable to hold Cynder's emerald gaze any longer, Esmeralda blinked and looked away with a sigh.

"So, basically you're telling me you think your purple dragon has been tricked and that this,' she paused, frowning as though trying to think of something, '_Anara _is actually evil, for lack of a better word. And now you and your friend there are trying to get him back before something _terrible _happens to the realms."

Their eyes met once more and Cynder nodded once, "that about sums it up. Although, and I'm only speaking from a hunch, I think there may be more to Anara than we realize. And I'm sure she's somehow connected to the vision that Kasumi's mother saw in the Pool."

Esmeralda bowed her head with a resigned sigh and for a moment her face was hidden from view. Cynder observed her in silence before noticing that her body was beginning to shake. The black dragoness wondered if she was crying, and narrowed her eyes in confusion. But before she could speak, Cynder heard the soft sound of chuckling and looked up in surprise as Esmeralda raised her head. The electric dragoness was grinning, laughing softly to herself, her eyes alight with something akin to excitement. Kasumi stared at her, slightly taken aback, as Cynder merely frowned.

"Who would have known…" Esmeralda laughed softly, "who would have suspected that our time of peace would end so quickly after the defeat of Malefor? Who could have known!?"

She threw back her head and laughed, "well, this only makes things more interesting! The world is in need of a hero once again, and this time the purple dragon isn't around to fulfil that task."

Purple eyes met green once more as Esmeralda grinned at Cynder, face glowing with elation. Cynder raised her eyebrows and the yellow dragon's grin only widened.

"I've waited for something like this," she purred, "this time, I'll show the world what I'm made of. This time I'll show the world that I'm the strongest dragoness alive," she paused and added almost as an afterthought, "except for perhaps you, Cynder."

Cynder could help but raise her eyebrows in speculation, "what, are you saying _you're_ the one who's going to save the world?"

Esmeralda shrugged, cocking her head to the side as her eyes glinted, "well, it can't hurt to try, can it? When you leave, I'm coming with you."

Cynder narrowed her emerald eyes, "what makes you think I'll take you along?"

"I'm not asking for your permission," Esmeralda retorted, smirking, "I'm coming with you whether you want me to or not. Now before we _do_ leave…didn't you have some questions you wanted answering?"

Cynder's eye twitched in irritation, her tolerance slowly withering in the face of this arrogant dragoness. Kasumi cast the black dragoness a wary look and decided to take over before Cynder tried to bite Esmeralda's head off; literally and figuratively. The little wind dragoness had barely said anything since entering the temple, and was feeling particularly out of place between the two older and more stubborn dragonesses.

"Um," Kasumi cut in softly, causing Esmeralda's head to whip towards her in surprise, "sorry to interrupt…but we just wanted to know why you were out in that forest…it seemed very dangerous out there, with those wolves roaming around."

Esmeralda practically glowed with pride, sitting up tall as though to make herself appear bigger, "of course it's dangerous out there. That's why I was there."

Kasumi's navy eyes filled with confusion as she pondered what Esmeralda had just said. To the young wind dragoness those words made absolutely no sense. But the electricity dragoness didn't hesitate to explain.

"It was a dare, you see," Esmeralda shrugged, "from my brother, Zannak. He's such an idiot sometimes. But who was I to reject his challenge? He may be my older brother, but that doesn't mean he's any stronger than I am. After the rest of the Academy heard about the dare there was no hope of me backing down. If I did, I'd lose all respect from them. Besides," she tossed her head proudly, "I wanted to prove to myself that I was strong enough."

She turned her eyes from Kasumi and grinned at Cynder once more, "strong enough, that is, to rival the great Terror of the Skies, Cynder."

Cynder's eyes widened, "so you went out there to risk your life just to prove you are as strong as I am? Or at least…as strong as I used to be."

Esmeralda's eyebrows rose slightly as she considered the black dragoness. It was true that Cynder was smaller than she had been during the time she had served under Malefor. But Esmeralda was inclined to believe that the fierce dragoness was no less strong than her former self had been.

"I wouldn't say you were stronger back then," Esmeralda admitted, "in fact, I'd be inclined to believe that you're stronger now."

"I don't believe you answered my question," Cynder muttered, ignoring Esmeralda's words, "did you really risk your life for something so trivial?"

"Who said I was risking my life?" was her answer, "those wolves were no match for me. And besides, wanting to prove my strength, wanting to become stronger," her eyes met Cynder's solemnly, "…is not trivial."

Cynder stood up abruptly, startling Kasumi and causing Esmeralda to clamber swiftly to her feet. The former Terror of the Skies fixed Esmeralda with a silent glare, and the yellow dragoness stared right back. Edgily, Kasumi watched at the two dragons seemed to have a silent conversation. The wind dragoness could almost see the sparks crackling between them. Finally, Cynder jerked her head and broke the stare off.

"Very well. You can come with us," she muttered, almost reluctantly, "but you'd better make yourself useful."

Esmeralda's face lit up, "I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise!"

*

The three dragonesses left the temple moments later and stood blinking as the bright light of the sky assaulted their eyes. Once their sensitive eyes had adjusted to the bright outdoors, Esmeralda immediately started towards a large building on the other side of town. It wasn't quite as large as the temple but still managed to tower over all other buildings. There was a crest of some sort carved into the banister over the door and Cynder squinted her eyes to make it out. There seemed to be carving of two dragons facing each other, their heads raised to the sky as lightning crackled from their mouths. Beneath the dragons were a few words that Cynder couldn't read from so far away, most likely a motto of sorts. Esmeralda made her way towards the building with a word and Kasumi hurried after her without question.

"Hey!" Cynder yelled, trotting up to Esmeralda's side, "where are you going? We don't have time for any detours, we need to get going _now_!"

The yellow dragoness gave Cynder an irritated look, "just relax, would you? We'll get going as soon as I inform Lord Ezentar. I mean he _is _the lord of this realm. I can't just leave without telling him. Otherwise," she paused, scowling, "everyone will worry if I just disappear…"

She fell silent, scowling at the ground, anger and pain reflected in her eyes. Cynder raised her eyebrows in interest and Kasumi looked concerned. Esmeralda noticed their curious faces and rearranged her expression, grinning, as she quickened her pace. Cynder narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Is there something you're not telling us, Esmeralda?"

The dragoness turned, flashing Cynder a meaningful look, her cheerful expression wavering for a moment, "You want to get going, quickly right? Well, then less chitchat and more walking! The sooner we see Ezentar, the sooner we leave."

The electricity dragoness slowed her pace inconspicuously as Cynder and Kasumi sped up. When Kasumi was head of them, Esmeralda dropped back to Cynder's side and hissed in her ear, making her jump.

"Listen, Cynder, what I don't tell you is my business. But I trust you, so I'll tell you what you want to know as soon as we're away from here. Believe me though, it's nothing important."

Cynder nodded quickly and Esmeralda sped up, passing Kasumi and shouting back over her shoulder, "well, come on then, you slowpokes! A snail could move faster than you! Bet I could reach the Academy _way _before you!"

Cynder narrowed her eyes, nudging Kasumi, "oh yeah? We'll leave you in the dust, wont we, Sumi?"

Kasumi blushed as Cynder used her old nickname, the one that her mother had always called her. But she nodded anyway and within seconds a full-blown race had developed as the three dragons sped through the streets towards the Academy. Running full pelt through the streets, they reached the large building within minutes, panting and wheezing. Cynder and Kasumi craned their heads up in awe at the large golden building. The crest was fully visible now and Cynder could read the motto that was carved beneath it.

'_Light the Skies; Embrace the Storm'_

Kasumi blinked up at it with wide eyes, "that's a nice motto. Back home in the Gale Realms our motto was always _'Live like the Wind'_. When I asked my mother she told me that it meant 'Live to be free'."

Esmeralda nodded slowly, casting the crest a quick glance, "yeah, no one really knows what our motto _really _means. Mostly we just come up with our own translations. I always believed it meant 'Embrace your inner power and show it to the world'. Who knows? My brother comes up with the weirdest translations sometimes…"

She said nothing more as she led Cynder and Kasumi into the Academy, pushing open the large metal doors with her shoulder. It was darker in here than it had been outside, much like inside the Temple. Cynder looked around with interest as her eyes adjusted. There were corridors and doors sprouting off into different rooms all around them and a spiralling gold staircase led up onto the next level.

"Is the Lord of your realm here?" Cynder asked and was met by a silent nod, "back in Avalar, our realm lords spend most of their time in the temple."

Esmeralda nodded again, "that's true with a lot of realm leaders, but Lord Ezentar also happens to be the principle of this Academy. So he spends a lot of time here in his office or assisting with classes. Come on."

She led them up the spiralling staircase, claws tapping softly against the yellow metal of the stairs. Kasumi stared in awe at the ornate rails on either side of them. They appeared to be made of white gold and were intricately carved into curling, flowing shapes. Cynder had eyes only for the ceiling as it came into view as they stepped onto the second floor. Large and circular, the roof curved like a dome and was patterned with paintings and carvings the likes of which Cynder had never seen. Dragons and other beasts looked down at them with stunningly real eyes, their scales appearing to shimmer in the dim light of the room. Had Cynder not known better she would have thought they were real dragons who had merely been stuck to the roof and now waited to be freed from their high prison.

Esmeralda cleared her throat softly, catching Cynder's attention, and jerked her head towards a large double door on the far side of the room. Cynder nodded and followed swiftly, Kasumi on her heels. Kasumi seemed awed by the large circular expanse that seemed to have nothing in it at all. She cast Esmeralda a questioning glance before they reached the doors.

"What's this room used for?"

Esmeralda turned her head slightly, "students usually relax here, between, before or after classes. The principle's office is just here so he can keep an eye on them. Come on, we want to be away from here as soon as possible."

Stopping before the large doors, Esmeralda raised a paw to tap her claw softly against the wood. There was a brief silence before a voice from within responded to the knock.

"Come in, the door isn't locked."

The three dragonesses did as they were bidden and carefully pushed the doors open, stepping soundlessly into the room. The room was filled with bookcases that lined every wall and were filled with various books of all shapes and sizes. A polished mahogany desk stood to their left, littered with piles of paperwork, pots of ink, and various feathered and bone quills. A large yellow dragon, his back turned to them, was facing the farthest bookshelf and muttering to himself. Running a claw along one of the shelves, he finally paused in front of a thick maroon book and pulled it out swiftly. Turning around with the book held in his paw, the dragon smiled warmly at his visitors.

"Welcome young ones…" he stomped over to his desk and set the book down heavily, sending up a small cloud of dust, before turning to face the three dragonesses.

Cynder noticed he was wearing small spectacles on the bridge of his muzzle and his eyes were a vibrant shade of brilliant turquoise. Those eyes widened considerably as they fell on Esmeralda and his expression became one of wary curiosity.

"Well, Esmeralda," he looked solemnly down at her, for he was quite a bit larger than she was, "I won't say it isn't often I see you in my office. However, it _isn't _often that you come here of your own accord. I'm almost afraid to ask what it is you want to see me about."

Esmeralda breathed a short puff of smoke in an exasperated sort of way, but Cynder noticed she was looking somewhat uncomfortable. The old yellow dragon was looking very sternly at her, like a teacher reprimanding a troublesome student. Kasumi seemed completely off in her own world, gazing in awe at the many books that lined the walls.

"Look, Master Ezentar. I know I'm not the best student you've had here at this academy. But honest to the ancestors, this hasn't got anything to do with my…troublesome ways," she suppressed a smirk, "in fact, I merely came here to inform you of something."

Ezentar raised a scaly eyebrow, "oh, and what might that be? You haven't destroyed anything this time have you?"

Cynder shot her a look, wondering just what on earth Esmeralda did in her spare time. Her eyebrow twitched in irritation as she stared straight back at Ezentar, ignoring Cynder's quizzical look. Ezentar noticed the compete lack of that arrogant smirk that usually graced Esmeralda's face, and realised just how serious she was.

"Don't worry, Master," she said with suppressed anger, "I won't be destroying anything else around here any more. I came to tell you that soon I'll be out of your scales. I'm leaving the realm today, as soon as possible. And I don't know if I'm going to come back."

Ezentar's expression became one of shock suddenly, and he looked as if he'd just been struck in the face. Esmeralda's face held no hint of arrogance, amusement or otherwise. She was completely serious, something he had never seen in the young dragoness. Here she was, a young and troublesome dragoness who he had seen grow from a hatchling, telling him that she was leaving the realm. The one and only Esmeralda, life of the classroom and terror of her teachers, was leaving.

"Esmeralda, is what you're saying true?" he asked incredulously, looking at her face for any hint that she was merely joking with him. But her expression was completely solemn as she nodded.

"But, what of your classmates…your friends?" he stared hard at her, his expression somewhat sad, "what of your brother?"

"Zannak…" she turned her eyes away, unable to look Ezentar in the eyes for whatever the reason, "he's older than I am. I know he's immature, but he can take care of himself. He'll grow up one day and he won't be such an idiot anymore. Until then…take care of him for me."

Ezentar's face fell, "Esmeralda…your brother is all you have left and you are all he has. You truly intend to leave him? You know what he will think…once he realises you are gone. You know what it will mean to him…"

"I know!" Esmeralda yelled, raised her eyes to glare at her master, her expression one of pain and perhaps sorrow, "I know. But that was why I came to you."

She bowed her head again, hiding her eyes from him, "so that he wouldn't think that I'd just…disappeared. So that he'd know that I might come back one day. I don't want him to think…that I'm like mother."

Cynder and Kasumi exchanged curious glances at Esmeralda's words, but neither said anything. Ezentar heaved a heavy sigh and reached out a wing that he gently placed on top of Esmeralda's head. She remained in silence, gazing at the ground.

"I've had to raise you myself, along with the other elders in this city. It pains me to see you go, and even more to see you leave your brother behind. No matter how much trouble you made for yourself, your teachers and your classmates, you've always been part of this realm. But whatever your choice, I cannot hold you back. I am sure your brother will understand. And I hope one day, you may return so that we may see your face once more."

Esmeralda smiled then, but no one saw it. She ducked out from beneath Ezentar's wing and bowed to him. His turquoise eyes turned to Cynder and Kasumi and he smiled.

"I trust you are the ones taking Esmeralda from me?" his eyes were warm and yet sad, "take good care of her."

Cynder and Kasumi bowed low to the lord of the Ampere realms, promising to watch out for Esmeralda. Straightening up, the three dragonesses headed back towards the door, stopping as Esmeralda turned around to face Ezentar once more. Her usual gusto was back and her eyes burned like twin purple flames.

"Wait for me, master Ezentar. If I do come back, I'll be a changed dragon. Just wait and see."

The lord only smiled, watching as the three dragoness headed out the door, closing it behind them. He stood for a moment, watching the closed door before turning and heading towards the small dusty window. Wiping dust away from the glass will the pad of his paw, Ezentar gazed out over his realm until he saw the three small figures as they exited the Academy down below.

"Good luck, young ones," he smiled sadly, "wherever you are going. And, Esmeralda, when you return…I'm sure you'll have finally found yourself. And when that time comes, you'll have grown into a beautiful dragoness of whom I can be proud to say 'she's as good as a daughter to me'. Good luck, young Esmeralda."

*

"Are you sure you don't want to go find your brother before we leave?" Cynder yelled to Esmeralda was they left the Academy.

The yellow dragoness only smiled sadly, "I'm sure. I've never been keen on goodbyes. He'll understand. Although I did promise everyone to tell them what happened in the forest. They'll probably be annoyed, but they'll get over it."

Kasumi looked at Esmeralda's face with concern, noticing the visible pain in her expression, "are…are you sure? It might be the last time you see him for a while…"

Esmeralda turned her face away, shutting her eyes, "I know. But…"

"Esmeralda!"

The three dragonesses all turned to look in surprise as a golden dragon came racing towards them, his expression furious. Esmeralda halted in her tracks, staring at him before averting her eyes to the ground. Zannak skidded to a halt in front of her, blowing steam from his nostrils.

"Es…what are you doing? I just went to the temple to look for you, but one of the old dragons said you'd already left. She said she'd heard you talking in there. Are you…are you really leaving the realm?"

"Huh," Esmeralda sighed, attempting a smile and yet unable to look her brother in the eye, "guess that was my fault…for not checking to see if anyone was listening…"

Zannak's eyes flashed and he planted his feet firmly in front of her, snarling, "answer me!"

She flinched visibly and glanced at him, "…yes. I'm leaving. I'm leaving the realm."

A growl forced its way from Zannak's throat and he raised his voice, "so that's it, huh? You're just going to up and leave? You're just going to disappear and never come back, huh?!"

"No, I…!" but Zannak wouldn't let her finish.

"You think you can just get up and go, huh? You think you can just desert this realm? You think you can just desert us?! What were you going to do, huh? Just get up and leave without so much as a goodbye?! What did you think _I _would think, Es? Did you even think about that?! Did you?! Or are you just going to disappear like mo-!"

"NO!" Esmeralda tossed her head back, eyes glistening with unshed tears as she faced her furious elder brother, "I wasn't…I wasn't going to do that. I just went to tell him…Master Ezentar, that is. I didn't want you to think that I…was just going to disappear…like her."

Zannak looked stunned for a minute before he sighed and let his head drop until his forehead was resting against Esmeralda's. He closed his eyes and immediately all the anger disappeared from his face.

"You're my little sis, Es," he muttered, "and I…I know sometimes I act like an idiot and you're always the one looking after us. But, I've always looked out for you, even if it doesn't seem like it. You're my sister, I can't help but love you. I don't want you to disappear. I don't want you to leave and never come back."

"Then…" she mumbled, "then I promise. I promise I'll come back one day. Ok?"

A sad smile tugged at his mouth as he drew his head back to look at his little sister, "there's…nothing I can say…to dissuade you…is there?"

She shook her head slowly, ignoring the tears that were clinging to her cheek scales. Zannak cocked his head and grinned, bumping her muzzle with his. Neither Cynder nor Kasumi spoke, keeping out of the way as they watched the conversation between the siblings.

"Well then," Zannak sighed, still smiling, "you'd better come back, little sis. Because there's still a hell of a lot of time I'd like to spend with you. There are still so many things we could get up to. Who's gonna disrupt the classes and terrorise the teachers, huh? Guess it'll just be me, now. But…that's ok. As long as you come back."

Esmeralda could only stare at him for a while, her violet eyes brimming with tears, before she flung herself at him and wrapped her wings around his neck. Burying her head in his chest scales, she sobbed out his name as he returned her hug. Smiling a sad smile, Zannak let his cheek rest against the top of her head.

"I'll come back," she whispered between sobs, "I promise."

"I know," he murmured in return, "I know you will. And I'll wait for you."

A few moments passed before Esmeralda jerked away from him, shaking her tears away in embarrassment. She grinned roguishly at her brother and he grinned right back , revealing pearly white fags.

"When I come back, I'll be even stronger than you, brother!" she yelled, "you just wait!"

"Dream on, little sis!" he laughed back at her.

Turning away from her brother, Esmeralda grinned at Cynder and Kasumi and jerked her head towards the sky. Leaping from the ground, the three dragonesses all took to the skies as Zannak watched them from the ground.

"Hey, Esmeralda!" he yelled, "how many wolves did you kill?"

She grinned down at him, proudly, "six! But that was all I could handle. Tell the others I slaughtered twenty of them and could have killed more but they ran away from me!"

His laughter reached her ears, "sure thing, little sis. You know they believe everything I say!"

"Goodbye, Zannak! I hope when I return you're not as big a buffoon as you are now!"

"Speak for yourself, little sis!"

Laughing, Esmeralda turned away into the sky and flew side by side with Cynder and Kasumi. Zannak watched them leave, his eyes raised to the sky and a small smile on his muzzle. Eventually they became merely black specks in the distance, but even when they had disappeared and the sky was dark with night, Zannak still stood watching. No other dragon disturbed him and he stood alone, staring at the place where his sister had disappeared into the sky along with her new friends. It was long past dark by the time he finally turned and headed towards his home, knowing his sister wouldn't be there to greet him. One last time he turned to gaze at the distant skies, his eyes warm and yet somehow sad.

"Good luck, Esmeralda," he murmured softly into the night, "come back alive, won't you? I'll wait. I'll always wait."

_Until you return…_

* * *

**A/N: **Not an overly long chapter, I don't think. I probably could have kept writing but this seemed like a good place to end. Stay tuned, Spyro is up next chapter! I'll have it up as soon as I can :) ta-ta!


	6. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

I'm so sorry if you were expecting a new chapter, and you probably were. However, I have some things that need saying, and I wasn't sure how else to do it. **Please read this, it is important**.

First of all, I'm thinking about quitting this story. I know you've all been reading it (and maybe enjoying it) and are probably all annoyed right now. However, I cannot continue a story that I cannot envision. I started this based on a few pages I had written more than a year ago, and the storyline I had back then has long since deserted me. If I try to blunder onwards blindly this story is not going to go anywhere. There are just too many things I do not know, loose ends that I cannot tie up, and almost no plotline to speak of whatsoever. I believe I tried to post this story too soon, before I had a chance to think about it and get my ideas in order. So at the moment all it's doing is imploding on itself and I don't think it's going to get any better. Therefore, based on all this, I am not going to continue 'Hollow Heart' and I am truly sorry to all my readers and reviewers who are now shaking their heads in disappointment. Forgive me.

However, before you throw rotten tomatoes at me, I want you to know that I haven't given up on the Spyro Fanfiction archive. I am not going to leave you with nothing, and I promise from the bottom of my heart that I will post a new story sooner or later (hopefully sooner). Just let me get my ideas in order and procrastinate for a while, and I promise I will come up with something new. And I can assure you that it will be bigger and better than Hollow Heart.

I'll leave you on that note, but it wont be long before I return with something new. So I sincerely apologise to you all for deserting this story, and I hope you can forgive me. Thankyou for your support, I will be back soon.

So then, farewell for the moment, goodbye for now, I will return, I swear.

~ Riverstyxx


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